cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
A spatial analysis of county-level variation in hospitalization rates for low back problems in North Carolina

Hospitalization rates for low back problems vary widely. In previous non-spatial analyses, population-level socioeconomic and health resource characteristics have explained little of the variation in rates. This study examines geographic variation in hospitalization rates for low back problems while controlling for spatial dependence in the data. County-level surgical and medical hospitalization rates were calculated using North Carolina hospital (USA) discharge data from 1990-92. Non-spatial and spatial regression models were estimated using socioeconomic and health resource predictors. Both surgical and medical rates varied significantly among the 100 counties. Non-spatial models explained 62% of variation in log-transformed surgical rates and 66% of variation in log-transformed medical rates; however, residuals showed significant spatial dependence. Spatial lag models were therefore applied. Using simple contiguity spatial weights, surgery rates increased with higher percent urban population, primary care physician density, and discharge rate for other causes, and decreased with higher percent college graduates, percent disabled, occupied hospital bed density, and unoccupied hospital bed density. There was a nonlinear relationship between surgery rates and percent employed in heavy lifting/transportation industries. Medical rates increased with higher other-cause discharge rate and with MRI/CT scanner availability, and decreased with higher percent urban population, percent nonwhite population, percent in heavy lifting/transportation industries, and unoccupied hospital bed density. The results show that population-level socioeconomic and health resource characteristics are important determinants of variation in low back hospitalization rates. Independent of these variables, a separate spatial process produces geographic clustering of high-rate counties. Spatial effects are important and should be considered in small area analyses.
MIDDLE CRETACEOUS REEF COLLAPSE LINKED TO OCEAN HEAT TRANSPORT

Biologically defined fluctuations in Cretaceous tropical reef boundaries of the Caribbean region record a dynamic rather than stable environmental history. These fluctuations may be related to major thermal changes resulting from ocean heat transport. With simultaneous poleward movement of surface and subsurface waters on sea-level highstands, the superheated middle Cretaceous tropics cooled, the reef line contracted, diversity decreased, and reef ecosystems collapsed, leading to mass extinction. Geologic data qualitatively test and support the hypothesis of enhanced Cretaceous ocean heat transport formulated from general circulation models. In these models, four times the present-day atmospheric concentration of CO 2 and twice the present-day model value of ocean heat transport cooled the superheated tropics and provided the best match to the distribution of inferred middle Cretaceous temperature data. These dynamic changes suggest an important role for large-scale disturbance in the evolution of tropical ecosystems.
A Practical method for the evaluation of the net rates of adsorption and desorption from adsorption-time curves

Abstract : This note proposes a method for obtaining the rates of both adsorption and desorption which are applicable to any surface and surface coverage and requires only adsorption-time curves observed at various concentrations of adsorbate. For convenience, the matter will be discussed for a gas-solid system.
Controls on timing and amount of right-lateral offset on the East Bay fault system, San Francisco Bay region, California

The distribution of offset, correlated rock units, relative position of northward younging volcanic rocks, and distribution of units not offset together reveal the history of strike-slip deformation along the East Bay fault system. The system accumulated 175 km of right-lateral offset since 12 Ma, but of this amount, only ~25 km was accumulated between 12 and 10 Ma and only ~75 km between 12 and 6 Ma. The westernmost Hayward fault zone is responsible for more than half (100 km) of the total, and it, too, has undergone more offset (60 km) after 6 Ma than before. The activity on any single fault zone in the system has been sporadic, and alternating periods of activity and inactivity have been recorded on at least some of the fault zones.
Method for Rapid Detection of Cyanogenic Bacteria

An agar plate method is described in which the production of hydrogen cyanide by as many as 50 microbial isolates per plate may be detected. Cyanide produced by the organisms reacts with copper(II) ethylacetoacetate and 4,4'-methylenebis-(N,N-dimethylaniline) in a paper disk suspended above the microbial colonies. Cell growth occurs in depressions in the agar surface, which allows separation of colonies and enhances sensitivity of hydrogen cyanide detection.
The New Penology : Notes on the emerging strategy of corrections and its implications

The new penology argues that an important new language of penology is emerging. This new language, which has its counterparts in other areas of the law as well, shifts focus away from the traditional concerns of the criminal law and criminology, which have focused on the individual, and redirects it to actuarial consideration of aggregates. This shift has a number of important implications: It facilitates development of a vision or model of a new type of criminal process that embraces increased reliance on imprisonment and that merges concerns for surveillance and custody, that shifts away from a concern with punishing individuals to managing aggregates of dangerous groups, and that affects the training and practice of criminologists.
Fair Division, Adjusted Winner Procedure (AW), and the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict

A dispute resolution mechanism called Adjusted Winner (AW), developed by Brams and Taylor, is used to propose a plausible solution to the final status issues between Israel and the Palestinians. Un...
Threshold behaviour of 3-body partial-wave amplitudes

The threshold behaviour of 3-body scattering amplitudes is investigated in potential theory. For a bound state plus free-particle system we use conventionalJ, M, l, S type of angular decomposition. For 3-free particle we useJ, M andM′, the latter being the component ofJ along a body-fixed axis. We then show that theT-matrices for bound-state elastic and rearrangement collisions behave like (pi)lf(pf)lf, werepi,pf refer to initial and final momenta. The break-up collisionT-matrices behave like (pi)lf-constant. The nonrescattering part of the 3-free →3-free amplitude behaves like a constant while the rescattering part behaves like I/p2. We emphasize that all these terms are independent ofJ.
SeGCom: Secure Group Communication in VANETs

In this paper, we propose a novel scheme to achieve secure, and efficient vehicular communication. In particular, SegCom provides two mechanisms to perform successive authentication of the vehicle with the road-side infrastructure units to expedite authentication for Vehicle-to-Infrastructure (V2I) communication. Furthermore, to enhance the efficiency of Vehicle-to-Vehicle (V2V) communication, SeGCom permits the vehicles to form group, which are also used for performing multi-hop V2V communication without any assistance from a trusted authority. Comparison with other existing schemes in the literature has been performed to show the efficiency and applicability of our scheme.
The impact of seasonality on changes in body weight and physical activity in Mexican-American women.

This 12-month, longitudinal panel study examined seasonal variability in body weight and physical activity in Mexican-American women. Fifty-nine women (20 to 63 years of age) were measured five times at intervals of three months between March 2010 and March 2011. Complete data were collected for all measures at all times on 36 women. Repeated measures multivariate analysis of variance with follow-up univariate repeated measures analysis of variance revealed that body weight increased on average by 1.36 kg (p < .01), with the greatest increase occurring during the fall (+0.80 kg). Changes in vigorous-intensity aerobic activity were statistically significant, with the greatest increase occurring in the spring (+51.99 min/week) and the greatest decline occurring in the fall (–30.11 min/week). Significant changes were observed in muscle-strengthening activity during the summer (–32.38 min/week). Moderate-intensity aerobic activity remained relatively stable. The decline in muscle-strengthening activity during...
Recovery of Streptococcus mutans After Amino Acid Deprivation

The recovery of Streptococcus mutans FA-1 in a complete, chemically defined medium was examined after 1, 3, and 6 h of essential amino acid deprivation. Amino acids could be divided into two groups based on their effect on the relative rates of recovery: those amino acids (leucine and cystine) that are precursors of protein only, and amino acids (glutamate/glutamine or lysine) that are incorporated into both protein and cell wall peptidoglycan. Culture turbidity, deoxyribonucleic acid, ribonucleic acid, protein and cell wall peptidoglycan measurements indicated rapid recovery after leucine/cystine starvation periods. However, a 6-h leucine/cystine deprivation resulted in a slower exponential rate of growth (180-min doubling time compared to the normal doubling time of 85 to 90 min) after recovery. Glutamate/glutamine starvation, on the contrary, resulted in greatly extended recovery periods, especially after 3- and 6-h amino acid deprivations. Macromolecular synthesis was most severely affected by 6-h glutamate/glutamine starvation and required 6 to 10 h for recovery of an exponential rate. A delay in the recovery of deoxyribonucleic acid and cell wall peptidoglycan synthesis beyond that of the other macromolecules was observed after 1 and 3 h of deprivation with either leucine/cystine or glutamate/glutamine. However, after a 6-h amino acid deprivation, deoxyribonucleic acid synthesis recovered more rapidly than that of the other macromolecules studied. The results are discussed in terms of the nutritional environment of the oral cavity and its effect on the growth and survival of S. mutans.
Comparative efficacy of positron emission tomography with fluorodeoxyglucose in evaluation of small ( 3 cm) lymph node lesions.

Purpose Our objective was to determine if positron emission tomography (PET) with fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG; PET-FDG) imaging is equally efficacious in detection of metastases in small and large mediastinal lymph nodes as compared to CT scanning. Materials and methods PET-FDG imaging, CT scanning, and histology results of sampled mediastinal lymph nodes were compared in 54 patients of total 118 patients studied. Efficacy of PET and CT was determined and compared in small ( 3 cm) mediastinal lesions. Results PET was accurate in 94% of patients in characterizing "N" disease as compared to 61% with CT. Overall, sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy of PET for staging mediastinal lymph nodes (n = 168 in 54 patients) was 96, 93, and 94%, as compared to 68, 65, and 66% with CT. Positive and negative predictive value of PET in detecting mediastinal adenopathy was 86% and 98%, as compared to 47% and 82% with CT, respectively. PET was also highly reliable and accurate for detecting lymph nodes 3 cm in size with superior efficacy than CT. Sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy of PET for detecting malignancy in lymph node lesions Conclusion PET-FDG imaging is equally reliable and accurate for detecting disease in small and large lymph node lesions in patients with suspected or proven lung cancer with better efficacy than CT.
Localization of Sodium Bicarbonate Cotransporter (NBC) Protein and Messenger Ribonucleic Acid in Rat Epididymis

An acidic environment is important for sperm maturation in the epididymis and also helps to maintain mature sperm in an immotile state during storage in this organ. Both an Na + /H + exchanger and an H + ATPase have been implicated in this process. The H + ATPase is concentrated in specialized apical (and/ or narrow) and clear cells of the epididymis, while the Na + /H + exchanger has not yet been localized in situ. As in other proton-secreting epithelia, bicarbonate transport occurs in the epididymis, where it is implicated in luminal acidification. In this study we used an antibody raised against a fusion protein (maltose-binding protein: MBP-NBC-5) from the C-terminus of the recently cloned rat kidney Na + /HCO 3 cotransporter (NBC) to localize this protein in the epididymis and vas deferens of the rat. The distribution of the respective mRNA was mapped by in situ hybridization. NBC message was strongly expressed in the initial segment and the intermediate zone of the epididymis, and the NBC-5 antibody gave a strong basolateral staining in both principal cells and apical/narrow cells in this region. Western blotting revealed a single band at about 160 kDa in the epididymis. The intensity of staining as well as mRNA levels decreased in the cauda epididymidis and in the vas deferens, where only weak staining was seen. Basolateral NBC may function in parallel with apical proton secretion to regulate luminal acidification and/or bicarbonate reabsorption in the excurrent duct system.
Cancer Risk in Ulcerative Colitis

Intestinal cancer may develop in patients with long-standing and extensive disease. This can occur in cases with either mild or severe inflammation. The development of cancer is usually preceded by dysplasia.
The fungus Neurospora crassa displays telomeric silencing mediated by multiple sirtuins and by methylation of histone H3 lysine 9

Background: Silencing of genes inserted near telomeres provides a model to investigate the function of heterochromatin. We initiated a study of telomeric silencing in Neurospora crassa, a fungus that sports DNA methylation, unlike most other organisms in which telomeric silencing has been characterized. Results: The selectable marker, hph, was inserted at the subtelomere of Linkage Group VR in an nst-1 (neurospora sir two-1) mutant and was silenced when nst-1 function was restored. We show that NST-1 is an H4-specific histone deacetylase. A second marker, bar, tested at two other subtelomeres, was similarly sensitive to nst-1 function. Mutation of three additional SIR2 homologues, nst-2, nst-3 and nst-5, partially relieved silencing. Two genes showed stronger effects: dim-5, which encodes a histone H3 K9 methyltransferase and hpo, which encodes heterochromatin protein-1. Subtelomeres showed variable, but generally low, levels of DNA methylation. Elimination of DNA methylation caused partial derepression of one telomeric marker. Characterization of histone modifications at subtelomeric regions revealed H3 trimethyl-K9, H3 trimethyl-K27, and H4 trimethyl-K20 enrichment. These modifications were slightly reduced when telomeric silencing was compromised. In contrast, acetylation of histones H3 and H4 increased. Conclusion: We demonstrate the presence of telomeric silencing in Neurospora and show a dependence on histone deacetylases and methylation of histone H3 lysine 9. Our studies also reveal silencing functions for DIM-5 and HP1 that appear independent of their role in de novo DNA methylation.
A model and algorithm for interconnecting two WANs

The authors consider the problem of determining which gateways to use to interconnect existing wide area networks (WANs) to minimize a linear combination of the average internet and intranet packet delays subject to a cost constraint on the amount to be spent to establish the gateways. This problem is formulated as a nonlinear combinational optimization problem. When the gateway locations are fixed, the resulting routing problem is not a convex programming problem. An algorithm to solve this problem is developed, and computational experience is reported. For light intranet traffic, the algorithm computed solutions that were within 6% of an optimal solution. For medium intranet traffic, the algorithm did not perform as well (error ranging from 5.7% to 16%). In addition, the CPU time used was higher for medium intranet traffic than for light intranet traffic. >
Polarization and human body effects on the microwave absorption in a human head exposed to radiation from handheld devices

A multigrid finite-difference time-domain code was used to calculate specific absorption rate (SAR) distribution in a human head exposed to microwave radiation from handheld antennas. The effect of the human body was taken into account and different antennas and polarization conditions were considered, The distance between the antenna and human head were varied to examine the effect of the human body on the SAR distribution, From the numerical results, it is shown that the human body plays a significant role on the SAR value and its distribution in the head [as high as 53% monopole, 41% planar inverted F antenna (PIFA)]. It is also shown that the effect of the body is more dominant at lower frequencies (monopole 900 MHz versus 1.9 GHz). For the monopole case, effect of body is particularly important at larger separation distances from the head, e.g., at d=4 cm versus d=0.5 cm. Effect of body is particularly important for the vertical orientation cases for both the monopole and PIFA.
Ultrasound characterization of fetal growth

Fetal weight is estimated in vivo from ultrasound image measurements. Serial study of weight growth defines a trajectory which has physiologic and clinical significance. Low order polynomial fits to these data provide a functional description of the growth process which may be used for recognition and characterization of distinct growth patterns.
Cytomegalovirus generates long-lived antigen-specific NK cells with diminished bystander activation to heterologous infection

Natural killer (NK) cells play a key role in the host response to cytomegalovirus (CMV) and can mediate an enhanced response to secondary challenge with CMV. We assessed the ability of mouse CMV (MCMV)-induced memory Ly49H(+) NK cells to respond to challenges with influenza, an acute viral infection localized to the lung, and Listeria monocytogenes, a systemic bacterial infection. MCMV-memory NK cells did not display enhanced activation or proliferation after infection with influenza or Listeria, as compared with naive Ly49H(+) or Ly49H(-) NK cells. Memory NK cells also showed impaired activation compared with naive cells when challenged with a mutant MCMV lacking m157, highlighting their antigen-specific response. Ex vivo, MCMV-memory NK cells displayed reduced phosphorylation of STAT4 and STAT1 in response to stimulation by IL-12 and type I interferon (IFN), respectively, and IFN-γ production was reduced in response to IL-12 + IL-18 compared with naive NK cells. However, costimulation of MCMV-memory NK cells with IL-12 and m157 antigen rescues their impaired response compared with cytokines alone. These findings reveal that MCMV-primed memory NK cells are diminished in their response to cytokine-driven bystander responses to heterologous infections as they become specialized and antigen-specific for the control of MCMV upon rechallenge.
Incorporating polaritonic effects in semiconductor nanowire waveguide dispersion

We present the calculated and measured energy-propagation constant (E-β) dispersion of CdS nanowire waveguides at room temperature, where we include dispersive effects via the exciton-polariton model using physical parameters instead of a phenomenological equation. The experimental data match well with our model while the phenomenological equation fails to capture effects originating due to light-matter interaction in nanoscale cavities. Due to the excitonic-polaritonic effects, the group index of the guided light peaks close to the band edge, which can have important implications for optical switching and sensor applications.
Designs for a new, quick-response, latching electromagnetic valve

Fixed timing of cylinder valve events with respect to piston motion in an internal combustion engine results in a compromise between fuel economy, emissions, and torque. A variable valve timing, however, permits optimization of the balance between these output standards at different engine conditions. Automobile companies have designed and tested conventional solenoid-type engine valve actuators to achieve variable valve timing, but these designs have suffered the inherent problem of high energy consumption. This study introduces a new electromagnetic engine valve actuator that uses permanent magnets to latch the valve position and thereby reduce the consumption of power
Test and debug techniques for multiple clock domain SoC devices

As semiconductor processes go beyond 90mm, system-on-chip (SoC) devices with multiple buses tends to be non-integer multiples of each other and possibly asynchronous. In order to mimic the end applications, the ATE system needs to provide a test environment as close to the native operation as possible. SoC devices have had multiple clock domains for some time now, and solutions to testing them with a dual-time domain system have been previously published in A.T Sivaram (2001). Debugging a microprocessor often presents a number of challenges to the test engineer based on D. Josephson (2002). The task becomes much more challenging with SoC devices that include more than two clock domains, and the added complexity of dealing with high-speed serial buses, which are faster than 400 Mbit. The traditional solutions have been to simulate and test these devices, with their clocks set up as an integer multiple of one another, so that they would fit within ATE restrictions. Certain test systems allow patterns to be split into separate timing domains, where each group of tester pins runs at a separate non-integer rate. Recently, the opportunity presented itself to work with a north bridge device with both single and multi-domain patterns available running at high speed. Using this project as a case study, this paper presents the key issues that need to be managed for successfully testing a multi-domain device. High-speed testing demands more up-front documentation from design prior to fixture layout. This paper highlights the necessity of mastering the suite of common ATE diagnostic tools and oscilloscope techniques to resolve problems during the test development of a case study device.
Carrier-mediated transport to enhance drug delivery to brain

Abstract Drug delivery to brain can be improved through the design of novel therapeutic agents that are rapidly and selectively shuttled into the nervous system across the blood–brain barrier (BBB) by the facilitated influx transporters of brain capillaries. Messenger RNA analysis has demonstrated high expression of >20 influx transporters at the BBB, including carriers for glucose (GLUT1), monocarboxylic acids (MCT1), large neutral amino acids (LAT1), cationic amino acids (CAT1), and nucleosides (ENT 1-2, CNT1-2) and choline. Expression of these transporters at the BBB is enriched 10–100 fold relative to whole brain tissue. Several polar therapeutic drugs gain entry to brain via carrier-mediated transport, including l -DOPA, α-methyl-DOPA, gabapentin, and melphalan. However, transport affinity for these agents is low and brain delivery is limited. Three-D structure–activity studies demonstrate that brain delivery can be improved >10 fold by incorporating substrate modifications that enhance carrier binding and transport. Specific examples are given in this paper for BBB LAT1 transport of two anticancer alkylating drugs, l -metasarcolysin and d , l -NAM. In summary, a broad array of highly expressed carrier-mediated transport systems is available at the BBB that can be used to enhance brain delivery for selected agents.
Optimization of Hologram Computation for Real-Time Display

Several methods of increasing the speed and simplicity of the computation of off-axis transmission holograms are presented, with applications to the real-time display of holographic images. A bipolar intensity approach enables a linear summation of interference fringes, a factor of two speed increase, and the elimination of image noise caused by object self- interference. An order of magnitude speed increase is obtained through the use of precomputed look-up tables containing a large array of elemental interference patterns corresponding to point source contributions from each of the possible locations in image space. Results achieved using a data-parallel supercomputer to compute horizontal-parallax- only holographic patterns containing 6 megasamples indicate that an image comprised of 10,000 points with arbitrary brightness (grayscale) can be computed in under one second.
Neuropsychiatric interventions with head injured children and adolescents

With increasing numbers of surviving head injured children and adolescents, there is a growing need to provide child neuropsychiatric services as a necessary component for their comprehensive rehabilitation. This paper discusses the critical role child psychiatry should have in pediatric head injury rehabilitation and outlines a framework for neuropsychiatric interventions including the use of neuropsychoactive medications. Case examples highlight the principles and practicalities of interventions.
Does democracy preempt civil wars

Abstract This paper proposes that the appropriate measure for capturing the political aspects that matter for social conflict is the level of inclusiveness of the political system. I analyze, theoretically and empirically, the relationship between inclusiveness of the political system and its stability. According to the model, high inclusive systems, such as the proportional representation system, are more stable than low inclusive systems that favor political exclusion, such as the majoritarian system. Empirically, it seems that democracy is not enough to deter social conflicts. The level of inclusiveness of the political system is important in explaining the probability of civil wars.
Brief communication: Puncture and crushing resistance scores of Tana river mangabey (Cercocebus galeritus) diet items.

Cercocebus mangabeys are characterized by dental traits that have been interpreted as adaptations to eat hard diet items. Although there are data that mangabeys include a large proportion of fruit and especially seeds in their diets, no hardness measurements have been done on mangabeys' food items. This study measured puncture and crushing resistance of food items in the diet of the Tana River mangabey (C. galeritus). Feeding data were collected by the use of scan samples from one mangabey group from August 2000 to July 2001 and from July 2005 to June 2006. Food items were collected during the latter period only, and from the same tree in or under which mangabeys had been observed eating. A portable agricultural fruit tester was used to measure the puncture resistance of fruit and a valve spring tester was used to measure the crushing resistance of seeds. The average puncture resistance of fruit was 1.7 kg/mm2, and the average crushing resistance of seeds was 12.8 kg. There were no correlations between puncture resistance, crushing resistance, or all resistance scores and frequency contribution to the diet. Resistance scores measured in this study were within the range of hardness scores of fruit and exceeded hardness scores of seeds eaten by other hard object feeders. Although this study supports the interpretation that Cercocebus dental traits are adaptations to hard object feeding, future research should investigate other material properties of food, as well as the role hard diet items play in niche separation and as fallback foods. Am J Phys Anthropol 2009. © 2009 Wiley-Liss, Inc.
The Performance and Association Between Patient-reported and Performance-based Measures of Physical Functioning in Research on Individuals with Arthritis

Objective. To evaluate the association between patient-reported outcome (PRO) and performance-based (PB) measures of physical functioning (PF) among individuals with self-identified arthritis to inform decisions of which to use when evaluating the effectiveness of a physical activity intervention. Methods. Secondary data analysis of a nonrandomized 2-arm pre-post community trial of 462 individuals who self-identified as having arthritis and participated in the Walk with Ease (WWE) intervention. Two PRO and 8 PB assessments were collected at baseline (preintervention) and at 6-week followup. We calculated correlations between PB and PRO measures, assessed how measures identified changes in PF from baseline to followup, and compared PRO and PB measures to arthritis symptoms of pain, stiffness, and fatigue. Results. Strength of correlations between PB and PRO measures varied depending on the PB measure, ranging from 0.21 to 0.54. PRO and PB measures identified PF improvements from baseline to followup, but none showed significant differences between the 2 WWE modalities (instructor-led or self-directed groups). Correlations with arthritis symptoms were stronger for PRO (0.30–0.46) than PB measures (0.03–0.31). Conclusion. PRO measures may provide us with insights into aspects of PF that are not identified by PB measures alone. Use of PRO measures allows patients to communicate their perceptions of PF, which may provide a more accurate representation of overall PF. Our study does not suggest abandoning the use of PB measures to characterize PF in patients with self-identified arthritis, but recommends that PRO measures may serve as complementary or surrogate endpoints for some studies.
Electrochemical Recovery of EDTA and Heavy Metals from Washing of Metal Contaminated Soil

Removal of many toxic heavy metals from contaminated soils by the addition of ethylenediamine tetraacetic acid is an effective and efficient means of remediation. However, the high cost of most chelating agents has precluded their uses in the remediation of metal contaminated sites. Electrolysis of Pb-EDTA, Cd-EDTA, Cr-EDTA, and Hg-EDTA chelates was investigated as a means by which the heavy metal can be separated from the chelating agent. This provides a separated heavy metal that can be recycled or is amenable to further treatment and disposal by more conventional technologies. Also, a reclaimed EDTA stream can be recycled to treat additional contaminated soil. The recycling of the EDTA will offset the high chemical cost and make the use of EDTA in treating metal contaminated sites more economical. The percent metal recovery for lead, chromium and mercury from their EDTA complexes was 99.7, 67.9, and 92.0 percent, respectively. Cadmium could not be recovered from its EDTA chelate. The percent EDTA recovery is equal to the percentage of metal electroplated from the complexes.
Structure of high alumina content Al2O3-SiO2 composition glasses.

The structure of binary aluminosilicate glasses containing 60−67 mol % Al2O3 were investigated using high-resolution 27Al NMR and X-ray and neutron diffraction. The glasses were made by aerodynamic levitation of molten oxides. The 67% alumina composition required a cooling rate of ∼1600 °C s1− to form glass from submillimeter sized samples. NMR results show that the glasses contain aluminum in 4-, 5-, and 6-fold coordination in the approximate ratio 4:5:1. The average Al coordination increases from 4.57 to 4.73 as the fraction of octahedral Al increases with alumina content. The diffraction results on the 67% composition are consistent with a disordered Al framework with Al ions in a range of coordination environments that are substantially different from those found in the equilibrium crystalline phases. Analysis of the neutron and X-ray structure factors yields an average bond angle of 125 ± 4° between an Al ion and the adjoining cation via a bridging oxygen. We propose that the structure of the glass i...
Tetralogy of Fallot.

This article has discussed TOF, its occurrence, physiology, medical interventions and nursing implications. In its classic form, TOF consists of four anatomical aberrations: a large VSD, pulmonic stenosis, dextroposition of the aorta, and right ventricular hypertrophy. Surgical palliation versus primary intracardiac repair is a continuing discussion in medical literature. Children who have undergone intracardiac repair for TOF have an excellent prognosis for late survival, near 90% 10 years after repair. Nursing responsibilities in the care of the newborn diagnosed as having TOF encompass the well-being of the newborn as well as the family. Palliation increases pulmonary arterial flow, thus decreasing cyanosis and promoting measurable clinical improvement in the infant. Preparation of the family and child for surgery involves completing a baseline assessment of family dynamics, diagnosing stressors, composing objectives, carrying out interventions focused on developmental ability, and evaluating the effectiveness of the nursing process. Maintaining the physical and emotional integrity of a child just out of the operating room is a challenge. Parental support is important to the young child's feelings of security while hospitalized.
Optimization techniques for enhancing middleware quality of service for software product-line architectures

Product-line architectures (PLA)s are an emerging paradigm for developing software families by customizing reusable artifacts, rather than hand-crafting the software from scratch. In this paradigm, each product variant is assembled, configured, and deployed based on specifications of the required features and service-level agreements. To reduce the effort of developing software PLAs and product variants, it is common to leverage general-purpose---ideally standard---middleware platforms. These middleware platforms provide reusable services and mechanisms (such as connection management, data transfer protocols, concurrency control, demultiplexing, marshaling/demarshaling, and error-handling) that support a broad range of application requirements (such as efficiency, predictability, and minimizing end-to-end latency). A key challenge faced by developers of software PLAs is how to optimize standards-based---and thus largely application-independent---middleware to support the application-specific quality of service (QoS) needs of different product variants created atop a PLA. This dissertation provides four contributions to research on optimizing middleware for PLAs. First, it describes the evolution of optimization techniques for enhancing application-independent middleware to support the application-specific QoS needs of PLAs. Second, it presents a taxonomy that categorizes the evolution of this research in terms of (1) applicability, i.e., are the optimizations applicable across variants or specific to a variant, and (2) binding time, i.e., when are the optimizations applied during the middleware development lifecycle. Third, this taxonomy is applied to identify key challenges that have not been resolved by current research on PLAs, including reducing the complexity of subsetting, configuring, and specializing middleware for PLAs to satisfy the QoS requirements of product variants. Finally, the dissertation describes the OPTEML solution approach that synergistically addresses key unresolved research challenges via optimization strategies that encompass pattern-oriented, model-driven development, and specialization techniques to enhance the QoS and flexibility of middleware for PLAs. These optimizations have been prototyped, integrated, and validated in the context of several representative applications using middleware developed with Real-time Java and C++.
Commentary: Can animal researchers and their supporters engage in useful dialogue with animal “Protectionists”?

The authors argue that the religious fervor and dishonesty that characterize the leaders of the animal rights/liberation movement preclude useful dialogue with them or their adherents by members of the scientific community on issues related to animal research.
Focal Seizures in Children

A 13-year-old right-handed boy has been healthy until 1 year ago when he developed the onset of recurrent “spells.” He comes for an evaluation with his parents who report that the spells have all looked the same when witnessed. He will initially feel a warning of a sudden “funny feeling” and have difficulty understanding what is being said. He is then seen to stare, be unresponsive to questioning, exhibit a behavioral arrest, and develop heavy breathing. The entire event lasts for less than a minute and afterwards his speech is altered. His parents notice that while his words are easily understood, there are prominent word substitutions and new words that do not make sense. He had a normal birth, labor, and delivery without perinatal complications, and his development was normal. There were no risk factors for epilepsy, including febrile seizures, meningitis or encephalitis, or head trauma. Additionally, there was no family history of seizures. Over the last year there has been a mild decline in his grades reflected by a slow deterioration in his test scores. His neurological examination was normal. A brain MRI was without abnormality. An EEG was obtained and demonstrated the following (see Fig. 8.1):
County Health Factors Associated with Avoidable Deaths from Cardiovascular Disease in the United States, 2006-2010.

Objective.Many cardiovascular deaths can be avoided through primary prevention to address cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk factors or better access to quality medical care. In this cross-sectional study, we examined the relationship between four county-level health factors and rates of avoidable death from CVD during 2006–2010.Methods.We defined avoidable deaths from CVD as deaths among U.S. residents younger than 75 years of age caused by the following underlying conditions, using International Classification of Diseases, 10th Revision, Clinical Modification (ICD-10-CM) codes: ischemic heart disease (I20–I25), chronic rheumatic heart disease (I05–I09), hypertensive disease (I10–I15), or cerebrovascular disease (I60–I69). We stratified county-level death rates by race (non-Hispanic white or non-Hispanic black) and age-standardized them to the 2000 U.S. standard population. We used County Health Rankings data to rank county-level z scores corresponding to four health factors: health behavior, clinical car...
Nominal Reasonable Royalties for Patent Infringement

In recent years, government officials, legislators, industry executives, and academic commentators have all raised questions about excesses of the patent system, particularly with respect to damage awards. In 2003, the Federal Trade Commission issued a broad report on suggested patent reforms, noting the negative economic effects of overvalued patents: “Poor patent quality and legal standards and procedures that inadvertently may have anticompetitive effects can cause unwarranted market power and can unjustifiably increase costs.” 1 In the years following this report, Congress has drafted, but not yet passed, patent reform bills modifying postgrant opposition procedures, increasing funding for the US Patent and Trademark Office (PTO) to improve patent prosecution, revising the standard for willful infringement, and addressing other patent system issues. 2 Proposed legislation further includes a requirement that the PTO conduct a study of reasonable royalty damages, looking for patterns of “excessive and inequitable damage awards,” but not suggesting any immediate reforms on this issue. 3 Technology industry executives, in particular, have supported patent reform legislation and publicly questioned the current system’s large damage awards. 4 Legislative and industry reformers
Abstract 755: Adoptive Transfer of RAGE-Deficient T lymphocytes Attenuates Atherosclerosis in Diabetic Apolipoprotein E Null Mice

Atherosclerosis is an inflammatory disease, associated with immune responses and other metabolic factors such as diabetes. Receptor for advanced glycation end products (RAGE) plays a central role in diabetic atherosclerosis. However, the impact of immune cell RAGE on lesion development in atherosclerosis-prone mice has not yet been studied. Here, we tested the hypothesis that T lymphocyte RAGE contributed to lesion progression in established atherosclerosis in diabetic Apolipoprotein E (apoE) null mice. Methods and Results : Male apoE null mice, apoE null/RAGE null (all in the C57BL/6 background) age 6 weeks, were rendered diabetic with streptozotocin; at 14 weeks of age, mice were sacrificed and aortas were collected for lesion analysis. The aortic mean lesion area in apoE null/RAGE null mice was 2.3-fold lower compared to that in apoE null mice, 61,120.87±4,258.86 μm 2 (n=6) verus142,367.02 ±7,621.08 μμ 2 (n=6), respectively, p 2 (n=7) verus 304,275.20±76,797.69 μm 2 (n=6), p 0.05. Conclusions: These data provide definitive evidence that RAGE contributes significantly to the acceleration of atherosclerosis in diabetes, and that T lymphocyte RAGE is critically involved in this process. Therefore, cell-specific targeting RAGE might be a potential therapeutic strategy for treating atherosclerosis in diabetes.
Nonlinear susceptibilities of solvated molecules and molecular aggregates

The third-order nonlinear response function and optical susceptibility χ(3) of polyatomic molecules and molecular aggregates in condensed phases are analyzed. Our expression for χ(3), derived using Liouville space Green's function techniques, contains contributions from excitons as well as biexcitons. The scaling of χ(3) with aggregate size and its dependence on the laser detuning and homogeneous and inhomogeneous dephasing rates are analyzed. Applications are made to phase conjugate degenerate four-wave mixing and pumpprobe spectroscopy.
Toward understanding Cretaceous climate—An updated review

New data and ideas are changing our view of conditions during the Cretaceous. Paleotopography of the continents was lower than originally thought, eliminating the ‘cold continental interior paradox’ of fossils of plants that could not tolerate freezing occurring in regions indicated by climate models to be well below freezing in winter. The controversy over the height of Cretaceous sea levels has been resolved by knowledge of the effects of passage of the subducted slab of the Farallon Plate beneath the North American crust. The cause of shorter term sea level changes of the order of 30 to 50 meters is not because of growth and decay of ice sheets, but more likely the filling and release of water from groundwater reservoirs and lakes although there may have been some ice in the Early and latest Cretaceous. Carbon dioxide was not the only significant greenhouse gas; methane contributed significantly to the warmer climate. Suggestions of very warm tropical ocean temperatures (> 40°C) have implications for the nature of plant life on land limited by Rubisco activase. The land surfaces were much wetter than has been thought, with meandering rivers and many oxbow lakes providing habitat for large dinosaurs. A major rethinking of the nature of conditions on a warmer Earth is underway, and a new suite of paleoclimate simulations for the Cretaceous is needed.
Mitochondrial Bioenergetics in the Metabolic Myopathy Accompanying Peripheral Artery Disease.

Peripheral artery disease (PAD) is a serious but relatively underdiagnosed and undertreated clinical condition associated with a marked reduction in functional capacity and a heightened risk of morbidity and mortality. The pathophysiology of lower extremity PAD is complex, and extends beyond the atherosclerotic arterial occlusions and subsequent mismatch between oxygen demand and delivery to skeletal muscle mitochondria. In this review, we evaluate and summarize the available evidence implicating mitochondria in the metabolic myopathy that accompanies PAD. Following a short discussion of the available in vivo and in vitro methodologies to quantitate indices of muscle mitochondrial function, we review the current evidence implicating skeletal muscle mitochondrial dysfunction in the pathophysiology of PAD myopathy, while attempting to highlight questions that remain unanswered. Given the rising prevalence of PAD, the detriment in quality of life for patients, and the associated significant healthcare resource utilization, new alternate therapies that ameliorate lower limb symptoms and the functional impairment associated with PAD are needed. A clear understanding of the role of mitochondria in the pathophysiology of PAD may contribute to the development of novel therapeutic interventions.
A Pairing Between a Green Heron (Butorides virescens) and a Presumed Green x Striated Heron (Butorides virescens x striata) in Tobago

Two species of Butorides herons are currently recognized: (1) the rufous-necked Green Heron ( B. virescens ) of North America, Central America and the West Indies; and (2) the gray-necked Striated Heron ( B. striata ) of South America (including dark B. s. sundevalli of the Galapagos Islands), Eurasia, Africa and Australia (American Ornithologists' Union 1998; Banks et al. 2003). Based on an increase in the variability and intermediacy of neck colour in the contact zone between the two species in central Panama and Tobago, the two species are thought to hybridise (Payne 1974; Hayes 2002, 2006; Hayes et al. 2013). Because random mating tends to reduce variability around an intermediate phenotype (observable expression of heritable traits), the full range of phenotypes among herons within the two contact zones suggests a tendency towards assortative mating (preferring to mate with one’s phenotype) despite occasional hybridisation, supporting their recognition as distinct species (Hayes 2006; Hayes et al. 2013). However, there are no published observations of a mixed pair breeding. In this note we provide such evidence for a possible pairing between a hybrid B. virescens x striata and a B. virescens in Tobago.
Intraoperative Bioprosthetic Valve Dysfunction Causing Severe Mitral Regurgitation

Structural degeneration of bioprosthetic valves usually occurs gradually over time. Failure of a bioprosthetic valve immediately after implantation is extremely rare. Possible causes include obstruction of valve leaflets from preserved subvalvular tissue during chordal-sparing mitral valve replacement (MVR) or strut entrapment by suture loops. We report 2 cases of acute bioprosthetic mitral valve (MV) dysfunction involving newly implanted Perimount Theon (Edwards Lifesciences, Irvine, CA) bioprostheses, causing severe transvalvular mitral regurgitation (MR). Rapid diagnosis was achieved with the use of intraoperative transesophageal echocardiography (TEE). Operative assessment and examination of the explanted valves could not determine a definite cause of failure in either case.
The Arrestin-Receptor Complex: Exciting Answers and New Questions

To better understand the molecular mechanism of arrestin-mediated signaling, detailed structural information on the arrestin-receptor complex is necessary. Biochemical studies provided some information about how arrestins are recruited by active receptors. The X-ray laser crystal structure of the rhodopsin–arrestin complex reveals unique structural features, which include the asymmetric binding of arrestin to rhodopsin. Arrestin adopts the active conformation, with a ~20° rotation between the N- and C-domains of the molecule, which opens up a cleft in arrestin to accommodate a short helix formed by the second intracellular loop of rhodopsin. Rhodopsin–arrestin complex gives important insights into how G protein–coupled receptor signaling is terminated by arrestin and reveals structural basis of the mechanism of arrestin-biased signaling.