cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
A neurophysiological brain map: Spectral parameterization of the human intracranial electroencephalogram.

Abstract Objective A library of intracranial electroencephalography (iEEG) from the normal human brain has recently been made publicly available (Frauscher et al., 2018). The library – which we term the Montreal Neurological Institute Atlas (MNIA) – comprises 30 hours of iEEG from over a hundred epilepsy patients. We present a Fourier spectrum-based model of low dimension that summarizes all of MNIA into a neurophysiological ‘brain map’. Methods Normalized amplitude spectra of the MNIA data were modelled as log-normal distributions around individual canonical Berger frequencies. The latter were concatenated to yield the composite spectrum with high accuracy. Key model parameters were color-coded into a visual representation on cortical surface models. Results Each brain region has its own spectral characteristics that together yield a novel composite intracranial EEG brain map. Conclusions iEEG from normal brain regions can be accurately modelled with a small number of independent parameters. Our model is based in the canonical Berger bands and naturally suits clinical electroencephalography. Significance Due to its applicability to iEEG from all sampled regions, the model suggests a certain universality to brain rhythm generation that is independent of precise cortical location. More generally, our results are a novel abstraction of resting cortical dynamics that may help diagnostics in epileptology, in addition to informing structure-function relationships in the field of human brain mapping.
High-Risk Prescribing Increases Rates of New Persistent Opioid Use in Total Hip Arthroplasty Patients.

Abstract Background The association between surgeon prescribing practices and new persistent postoperative opioid use is not well understood. We examined the association between surgeon prescribing and new persistent use among total hip arthroplasty (THA) patients. Methods A retrospective analysis of Medicare claims in Michigan was performed. The study cohort consisted of orthopedic surgeons performing THAs from 2013 to 2016 and their opioid-naive patients, aged >65 years. High-risk prescribing included high daily doses, overlapping benzodiazepine prescriptions, concurrent opioid prescriptions, prescriptions from multiple providers, or long-acting opioid prescriptions. The occurrence of a preoperative prescription, initial prescription size, and 30-day prescription dosage were examined as individual exposures. Surgeons were categorized into quartiles by prescribing practices, and multilevel hierarchical logistic regression was used to examine associations with postoperative new persistent opioid use. Results Surgeons exhibited high-risk prescribing for 66% of encounters. Patients of surgeons with the highest rates of high-risk prescribing were more likely to develop persistent use compared with patients of surgeons with the lowest rates (adjusted rates: 9.7% vs 4.6%, P = .011). Patients of surgeons with initial prescription sizes in the “high” (third) quartile (adjusted odds ratio, 2.91; 95% confidence interval, 1.53-5.51), and of surgeons in the “highest” (fourth) quartile of 30-day prescription dosage (adjusted odds ratio, 1.93; 95% confidence interval, 1.03-3.61), were more likely to develop persistent opioid use compared with patients of surgeons with low initial and 30-day prescription sizes, respectively. Conclusion The development of persistent opioid use after surgery is multifactorial, and surgeon prescribing patterns play an important role. Reducing prescribing and encouraging opioid alternatives could minimize postoperative persistent opioid use.
Angular-Momentum Transfer in Deeply Inelastic Scattering of 610-MeV Kr 86 by Bi 209

For the reaction 610-MeV $^{86}\mathrm{Kr}$ + $^{209}\mathrm{Bi}$, angular correlations of fragments from fissioning heavy reaction products have been measured with respect to the recoil direction, both in and out of the reaction plane. The deduced angular momentum of the recoil particle is large, $(50\ensuremath{-}70)\ensuremath{\hbar}$, and is consistent with that of the sticking limit and greater than that of the rolling limit. This result demonstrates the importance of the tangential component of the frictional force.
Pretrial Detention in the Time of COVID-19

It is hard to overstate the impact of COVID-19. When it comes to the criminal justice system, the current COVID-19 crisis has shone a light on pre-existing flaws. Long before the first confirmed case in Seattle or elsewhere, America’s jails and prisons were particularly susceptible to contagions, exacerbated by problems from overcrowding to over policing to lack of reentry programs. This Essay focuses on one aspect of the challenges the criminal justice system faces in light of COVID-19 and beyond—that of a pretrial detention system that falls more harshly on poor and minority defendants, has swollen local jail populations, and has incentivized pleas contributing in its own right to prison overcrowding. Even in the best of times the pretrial detention system is often punitive, fraught with bias, produces unnecessarily high rates of detention, and carries a myriad of downstream consequences both for the accused and the community at large. In the context of the COVID-19 crisis, this pretrial detention system faces an exacerbated challenge: the health and safety of those in custody and those who staff U.S. jails and prisons. This new reality reveals that even during “ordinary times” the pretrial detention system fundamentally miscalculates public safety interests to the detriment of both detainees and the communities they leave behind. Simply put, current pretrial detention models fail to account for risks to defendants during periods of incarceration and pit defendants’ interests against the very communities that depend on them. The public health crisis of COVID-19 demonstrates in very real terms the interconnected nature of a defendant’s and the community’s safety interests. This connection is not unique to the current public health crisis, however, COVID-19 brings to light the persistent reality that communities are often weakened, not made safer, by the removal of defendants during pretrial periods.
Empirical Evaluation of the Ensemble Framework for Feature Selection in DDoS Attack

Over the past two decades, Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attacks have been responsible for most of the catastrophic failures in the Internet causing a huge amount of disruption of services across all sectors of the economy. Almost every year this attack scores top among all other attacks in terms of the cost to the overall global economy. Machine Learning (ML)based Intrusion Detection Systems (IDSs) heal the global economy with the goal of reducing the prevalence of cyber incidents, such as DDoS. In an ML classification problem, the feature selection process, aka feature engineering, is treated as a mandatory preprocessing phase that potentially reduces the computational complexity by identifying important or relevant features from the original dataset and results in the overall improvement of classification accuracy. In this paper, we propose an ensemble framework for feature selection methods (EnFS) that combines the outputs of seven well-known feature selection methods using the majority voting (MV) technique and produces an optimal set of features. In the evaluation of the proposed framework, an extensive experiment was performed using the intrusion detection benchmark dataset NSL-KDD [1]. Furthermore, using the optimal feature set, we have experimented with ensemble supervised ML framework [2] for the same dataset that demonstrated the efficacy of our approach by producing greater accuracy and negligible false alarms compared to existing approaches.
Balancing processing ease with combustion performancein aluminum/PVDF energetic filaments

Molecular weight (Mw) effects in poly(vinylidene fluoride) (PVDF) influence both processability and combustion behavior in energetic Al–PVDF filaments. Results show decreased viscosity in unloaded and fuel-lean (i.e., 15 wt% Al) filaments. In highly loaded filaments (i.e., 30 wt% Al), reduced viscosity is minimal due to higher electrostatic interaction between Al particles and low Mw chains as confirmed by Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy. Thermal and combustion analysis further corroborates this story as exothermic activity decreases in PVDF with smaller Mw chains. Differential scanning calorimetry and Thermogravimetric analysis show reduced reaction enthalpy and lower char yield in low Mw PVDF. Enthalpy reduction trends continued in nonequilibrium burn rate studies, which confirm that burn rate decreases in the presence of low Mw PVDF. Furthermore, powder X-ray patterns of post-burn products suggest that low Mw PVDF decomposition creates a diffusion barrier near the Al particle surface resulting in negligible AlF3 formation in fuel-rich filaments.
Abstract 1090: Regulation of PTEN translation by PI3K signaling maintains pathway homeostasis

The PI3K pathway is a key regulator of metabolism, cell proliferation and migration and some of its components (e.g. PIK3CA and PTEN) are frequently altered in cancer by genetic events that deregulate its output. However, PI3K signaling is not usually the primary driver of these tumors and inhibitors of components of the pathway have only modest antitumor effects. We now show that both physiologic and oncogenic activation of the PI3K signaling by growth factors and an activating hotspot PIK3CA mutation respectively, cause an increase in the expression of the lipid phosphatase PTEN, thus limiting the duration of the signal and the output of the pathway in tumors. Pharmacologic and physiologic inhibition of the pathway by HER2/PI3K/AKT/mTOR inhibitors and nutrient starvation respectively reduce PTEN, thus buffering the effects of inhibition and contributing to the rebound in pathway activity that occurs in tumors. This regulation is found to be a feature of multiple types of cancer, non-cancer cell line and PDX models thereby highlighting its role as a key conserved feedback loop within the PI3K signaling network, both in vitro and in vivo. Regulation of expression is due to mTOR/4EBP1 dependent control of PTEN translation and is lost when 4EBP1 is knocked out. Translational regulation of PTEN is therefore a major homeostatic regulator of physiologic PI3K signaling and plays a role in reducing the output of oncogenic mutants that deregulate the pathway and the antitumor activity of PI3K pathway inhibitors. Citation Format: Radha Mukherjee, Kiran Gireesan Vanaja, Jacob A. Boyer, Juan Qiu, Xiaoping Chen, Elisa de Stanchina, Sarat Chandarlapaty, Andre Levchenko, Neal Rosen. Regulation of PTEN translation by PI3K signaling maintains pathway homeostasis [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research 2020; 2020 Apr 27-28 and Jun 22-24. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2020;80(16 Suppl):Abstract nr 1090.
Gendered expressions of popular piety: devotionals, education, and the development of the new readership of women and children in Mexico City, 1750–1821

In 1774, the anonymously written devotional Practica para alcanzar lo que se pide a Dios por San Francisco de Sales, Obispo, y Principe de Genova was printed in Mexico City at the Imprenta de la Bi...
A computationally efficient metric for identification of critical links in large transportation networks

Abstract Maintaining safety and resilience in transportation system requires identification of critical components. The existing transportation link criticality metrics typically require multiple traffic assignments to perform a full scan of the network. Link removals create computational burden and can cause network disconnectivity which makes it problematic to run traffic assignment. The authors previously introduced Link Criticality Index (LCI) that identifies the criticality ranking within a single User Equilibrium (UE) traffic assignment using Frank-Wolfe (FW) algorithm. While LCI is shown to provide balanced rankings with respect to connectivity and flow conditions, its computational efficiency diminishes for larger networks due to the need for path enumeration. This paper formulates an adjusted LCI to make it computationally efficient for larger networks. Adjusted LCI utilizes 1) viable routes instead of the complete list of enumerated paths; and, 2) a path-based traffic assignment algorithm (Gradient Projection) to replace FW. The consistency of rankings between original/adjusted LCIs, and other measures from the literature are analyzed and compared for three networks, and through an experimental setup. The proposed method is also applied on a large-scale transportation network, i.e., Chicago network. The results show that both modifications are effective and yield faster results without compromising LCI's advantages.
Implementation of a Rapid Phenotypic Susceptibility Platform for Gram-Negative Bloodstream Infections with Paired Antimicrobial Stewardship Intervention: Is the Juice Worth the Squeeze?

BACKGROUND Implementation of the Accelerate PhenoTM Gram-negative platform (RDT) paired with antimicrobial stewardship program (ASP) intervention projects to improve time to institutional-preferred antimicrobial therapy (IPT) for Gram-negative bacilli (GNB) bloodstream infections (BSIs). However, few data describe the impact of discrepant RDT results from standard of care (SOC) methods on antimicrobial prescribing. METHODS A single-center, pre-/post-intervention study of consecutive, nonduplicate blood cultures for adult inpatients with GNB BSI following combined RDT + ASP intervention was performed. The primary outcome was time to IPT. An a priori definition of IPT was utilized to limit bias and to allow for an assessment of the impact of discrepant RDT results with the SOC reference standard. RESULTS Five hundred fourteen patients (PRE 264; POST 250) were included. Median time to antimicrobial susceptibility testing (AST) results decreased 29.4 hours (P < .001) post-intervention, and median time to IPT was reduced by 21.2 hours (P < .001). Utilization (days of therapy [DOTs]/1000 days present) of broad-spectrum agents decreased (PRE 655.2 vs POST 585.8; P = .043) and narrow-spectrum beta-lactams increased (69.1 vs 141.7; P < .001). Discrepant results occurred in 69/250 (28%) post-intervention episodes, resulting in incorrect ASP recommendations in 10/69 (14%). No differences in clinical outcomes were observed. CONCLUSIONS While implementation of a phenotypic RDT + ASP can improve time to IPT, close coordination with Clinical Microbiology and continued ASP follow up are needed to optimize therapy. Although uncommon, the potential for erroneous ASP recommendations to de-escalate to inactive therapy following RDT results warrants further investigation.
Infections associated with diabetic-care devices.

Abstract Background and aims There are more than 463 million people living with diabetes with this number expected to increase to 700 million people by 2045. Diabetes is a risk factor for patients developing various comorbidities including, but not limited to, diabetic neuropathy, retinopathy, chronic kidney disease, vascular impediments, and infections. Due to the continuous invasiveness of monitoring and/or treatment of this disease, site for infections are elevated. Methods Information was primarily gathered by employing various PubMed scholarly articles for real-world examples in addition to data extraction from supplementary manuscripts. Key search words employed were: diabetes, insulin site infection, lancing infections, insulin pump associated infections, and continuous glucose monitoring infections. Results Diabetic care devices used for blood glucose monitoring and insulin administration are an integral part of the disease management and/or treatment in various settings including patient homes, assisted living facilities, community centers, and hospitals. These invasive devices leave a diabetic patient with a small open wound which may get infected or aid in blood borne pathogen transmission. Since diabetes itself has a morbidity and mortality burden, it is important to also study complications arising from the management of diabetes. Conclusion Although cases exist of infections, either by pathogen transmission or direct inoculation of the prick site, these are a very small percentage and thus should not undermine the confidence in diabetes management. This review highlights the instances of these infections and where they most often occur.
Using Gig Cases to Teach Worker Classification: A New Model Ignites an Old Problem

The strategic role of management, including the choice between hiring contracted labor or employees, is an important instructional topic for emerging human resource (HR) professionals. Although students may quickly identify the cost savings attendant to hiring independent contractors, they often have little or no exposure to the complex regulatory system that determines worker classification. Employment classification complexities have long been a source of frustration and uncertainty for business consultants and HR professionals. Yet the emergence of gig-economy companies, which capitalize on hiring low-wage, on-demand, independent contractors, has generated a new wave of worker classification lawsuits. Recent litigation involving GrubHub, Dynamex, and Uber provide three authentic case studies for introducing students to worker classification analysis, the opposing views of industry and labor, and the compliance uncertainties created by the lack of statutory clarification. Additionally, using actual business cases as a pedagogical approach when teaching worker classification standards facilitate students’ preparation as management practitioners and spur learners to evaluate whether existing legal standards remain viable for an emerging gig labor model.
Towards Examining The Effects of Live Streaming an Educational Game

We propose a study on the effects of live streaming on an educational game’s learning outcomes. The COVID-19 pandemic has strengthened the call for interactive online learning experiences. There is a growing body of literature examining learning on platforms such as Twitch, and studies have shown that enhancing in-game performance is possible from viewing a stream. However, little work has explored whether learning from live streaming educational games, where in-game performance relates to educational outcomes outside of the game context, is possible. We share the details of our proposed study, in which an educational game called Angle Jungle will streamed to participants, and learning gains will be compared to three non-live streamed conditions. By executing this study, we can understand the benefits and shortcomings of current live streaming interfaces in supporting educational games, paving the way for the design of novel and interactive learning experiences built for live streaming platforms.
Poor nutrition and chronic diseases among minority populations

Minority populations are more subject to chronic diseases such as obesity, hypertension, and various cancers due to their lack of access to quality food and knowledge of adequate nutrition. Theories such as the Health Belief Model and the Social Cognitive Theory have been used throughout various studies to understand why minority populations are more likely to develop chronic diseases stemmed from poor nutrition. Components such as socioeconomic status, education, median household income, ethnicity, interpersonal and intrapersonal factors were all analyzed using the aforementioned theories to understand why minorities are disproportionately affected in regard to receiving adequate nutrition and prevention of chronic diseases. Various government policies and programs have been created to aid minority families in purchasing quality food and to promote more measures against chronic diseases. Further research in understanding why minority populations are disproportionately affected may include systemic and environmental racism, including administration of preventive healthcare resources.
Exact Questions to Some Interesting Answers in Many Body Physics

In many body physics, we are usually faced with the intractable problem of finding the ground state wavefunction of a thermo dynamic ally large system of interacting particles. Typically this problem is solved perturbatively. That is, we start with some simple noninteracting Hamiltonian and its ground state (e.g. the free Fermi gas) and perturb in the interactions (e.g. the Coulomb potential): $$Hamiltonian H\to perturbation theory\to ground state \left| \Psi \right\rangle .$$
Oscillation measurements with the NuMI beam

MINOS and NOνA are two long-baseline neutrino experiments situated along Fermilab's recently upgraded high-intensity NuMI neutrino source. MINOS has capped its long and successful run with a joint analysis of its complete beam and atmospheric neutrino and antineutrino data sets, providing new constraints on Δm^2_(32) and θ_(23). MINOS has also produced new limits on light sterile neutrinos in the disappearance channel and on non-standard interactions. NOνA is a next-generation experiment whose 14-kton detector uses a highly active, finely segmented design that offers superb event identification capability. NOνA became fully operational last year and will provide new constraints on (or first measurements of) θ_(23), Δm^2_(32), the neutrino mass hierarchy, and the CP-violating phase δ. In this article, we review the most recent MINOS results, the outlook for MINOS+, and the broad physics scope of NOνA.
Steroid-protein interactions: XIII. Concentrations and binding affinities of corticosteroid-binding globulins in sera of man, monkey, rat, rabbit, and guinea pig☆

Abstract Endogenous corticosteroid hormones and other steroids were removed from sera by gel filtration over Sephadex at 45 °. At this temperature, the association constant of the corticosteroid-binding globulins (CBG)-corticosteroid complex is many times smaller, and the rate of dissociation considerably higher than at 4 °. The removal of exogenous hormone was practically complete; the CBG activity was not affected. Binding affinity of the filtered sera was determined by equilibrium dialysis in the presence of radiolabeled cortisol, corticosterone, and progesterone at different levels, at 4 ° and 37 °. Concentrations of CBG binding sites and apparent association constants for the various steroid hormone-CBG complexes were derived from the dialysis data. The concentration of binding sites was found to be approximately the same for the three steroid hormones studied, ranging from 3.4 × 10 −7 m for rabbit serum to 11.3 × 10 −7 m for rat serum, with an intermediate level of 7.2 × 10 −7 m for human serum. The association constant at 4 ° was between 10 and 40 times greater than at 37 °. As far as comparisons can be made, the values presented are in good agreement with those reported from other laboratories.
Teaching Software Design in the Freshman Year

Designing high-quality software is difficult, and therefore instruction in design should hold prominence in educating future software engineers, just as in other engineering disciplines. Nearly all software engineers receive their education within programs in computer science, but these programs typically provide inadequate instruction in design. The missing ingredient is instruction in the making of intelligent choices among design alternatives. We must increase the emphasis on the teaching of design principles for guiding the choice-making, not just in senior or graduate courses in software engineering, but throughout the undergraduate curriculum. In particular, the teaching of design in the introductory programming sequence can be improved. We present some examples of how instruction in design can be incorporated into the first courses in programming.
The patient and the professional: Partners in sickness and in health

Abstract Editor's Note: Julie G. Madorsky, MD, medical director of the Spinal Cord Injury Program at Casa Colina Hospital for Rehabilitative Medicine, Pomona, CA, was honored as the 1988 Physician of the Year by the President's Committee on Employment for Disabled Persons. A member of both the American Academy of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation and the American Congress of Rehabilitation Medicine, she was invited to deliver the keynote address at the Opening Ceremony of the two organizations' annual meetings in Seattle October 30-November 4, 1988. That address included a gripping videotape of the conquest of a mountain by three climbers in wheelchairs. Both the tape and Dr. Madorsky's address were enthusiastically received; the address is published here, edited by Dr. Madorsky only to exclude the videotape portion.
Sexual behaviour, STDs and risks for prostate cancer

A population-based case-control study was carried out among 981 men (479 black, 502 white) with pathologically confirmed prostate cancer and 1315 controls (594 black, 721 white). In-person interviews elicited information on sexual behaviour and other potential risk factors for prostate cancer. Blood was drawn for serologic studies in a subset of the cases (n = 276) and controls (n = 295). Prostate cancer risk was increased among men who reported a history of gonorrhoea or syphilis (odds ratio (OR) = 1.6; 95% confidence internal (CI) 1.2–2.1) or showed serological evidence of syphilis (MHA-TP) (OR = 1.8; 95% CI 1.0–3.5). Patterns of risk for gonorrhoea and syphilis were similar for blacks (OR = 1.7; 95% CI 1.2–2.2) and whites (OR = 1.6; 95% CI 0.8–3.2). Risks increased with increasing occurrences of gonorrhoea, rising to OR = 3.3 (95% CI 1.4–7.8) among subjects with three or more events (Ptrend= 0.0005). Frequent sexual encounters with prostitutes and failure to use condoms were also associated with increased risk. Syphilis, gonorrhoea, sex with prostitutes and unprotected sexual intercourse may be indicators of contact with a sexually transmissible factor that increases the risk of prostate cancer. © 2000 Cancer Research Campaign
Gringo viejo : The Labyrinth of Solitude Revisited

With its setting in northern Mexico during the revolutionary period, its reference to historical figures, and its depiction and examination of early twentieth-century socioeconomic conditions in the country, there is ample justification for linking Carlos Fuentos's Gringo viejo (1985) to the literary phenomenon commonly referred to as the novel of the Mexican Revolution. Like other of Fuentes's works, it also reveals a profound indebtedness to Octavio Paz. Central to that influence are ideas and theories that Paz develops in his classicemifo de la soledad} This essay examines the way in which Fuentes has incorporated a number of Paz's major ideas into thematic and character development in Gringo viejo.
Apoptosis CED-4 is a stranger no more

Research on the nematode wormCaenorhabditis elegans has delivered much of what is known about apoptosis (programmed cell death). About a dozen or so cell death (ced) genes are involved, but one of the most important of them, ced-4, has remained enigmatic. Two papers now lift the veil on the gene and its product. One describes the mammalian homologue, and thus provides further grist for speculation about parallels between the cell-death process in very different organisms. The other shows how CED-4 protein may function; it looks as if it acts as a context-dependent ATPase which facilitates the autoactivation of CED-3, another player in the process.
Alumina Scale Formation: A New Perspective

Oxidation of Al2O3 scale-forming alloys is of immense technological significance and has been a subject of much scientific inquiry for decades. The oxidation reaction is remarkably complex, involving issues of alloy composition, kinetics, thermodynamics, microstructure, mechanics and mechanical properties, crystallography, etc. A brief overview of the formation of passivating, thermally grown oxide Al2O3 scales will be given in the light of recent findings on the defect structure and associated transport behavior of α-Al2O3. It is inferred that the electronic structure of Al2O3 is of direct relevance to understand the Al2O3 scale growth. We also discuss the effect of the so-called “reactive” elements (REs)—Y, Zr, and Hf—on reducing the rate of Al2O3 scale thickening by reducing the outward flux of aluminum. An important aspect of the “new perspective” is the suggestion that the REs change the electronic structure of Al2O3—the relevant near-band-edge defect (grain boundary) states that are crucial to vacancy creation both at the scale/gas and scale/metal interfaces.
Effect of social stratification on extension-farmer contact among poultry farmers in Delta State, Nigeria.

This study was carried out in Delta State, Nigeria to determine the effect of social stratification on extension - farmer contact among poultry farmers. Multi-stage random sampling technique was used to select 108 poultry farmers for the study. The data were collected with the use of questionnaire and structured interview schedule. Data collected were analyzed with the use of descriptive statistics and inferential statistics were used to test the hypotheses. The result of the study showed that the variables of wealth, occupation, family ancestry, religion, level of education, gender and farm size were used to determine class structure. There were differences in frequency of contact between extension agents and farmers based on farm size and level of education. Hypothesis 1 (there is no significant difference in the frequency of extension-farmer contact between small, medium and large scale poultry farmers) showed significant difference in frequency of contact among group of poultry farmers (F=8.583). Hypothesis 2 (there is no significant difference in frequency of extension contact with poultry farmers based on farm size and level of education as class determinants) indicated that the level of education, farm size, marital status and income influence contact between farmers and extension agents. It was recommended that extension agents should endeavour to give equal treatment to every class of poultry farmers, more extension agents should be employed by Delta State Agricultural Development Programme (DTADP) and the DTADP should set up inspectorate/supervisory committee that will make sure that every class of farmers is adequately visited.
Factors Associated With Emergency Department Use Among the Rural Elderly

Context Emergency Department (ED) use among the rural elderly may present a different pattern from the urban elderly, thus requiring different policy initiatives. However, ED use among the rural elderly has seldom been studied and is little understood.
Prevalence and spectrum of thin filament mutations in an outpatient referral population with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy.

Background— Thin filament mutations are reported to cause ≈20% of cases of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM), and they have been associated with specific phenotypes. However, the frequency of these mutations and their associated phenotype(s) from a large tertiary referral center population are unknown. Methods and Results— DNA was obtained from 389 unrelated patients with HCM. A mutational analysis of all protein coding exons of cardiac troponin T, cardiac troponin I, α-tropomyosin, and cardiac actin was performed using polymerase chain reaction, denaturing high-performance liquid chromatography, and DNA sequencing. The clinical data were extracted from patient records and maintained independent of the patient genotype. Overall, only 18 patients (4.6%) harbored isolated thin filament mutations: 8 had troponin T mutations, 6 had troponin I mutations, 3 had α-tropomyosin mutations, and 1 had an actin mutation. Of the 12 unique missense mutations identified, 9 (75%) were novel mutations. As a group, patients...
A Study of Business Student Choice to Study Abroad: A Test of the Theory of Planned Behavior

Study abroad experiences are becoming increasingly common with business students. In this study, we build upon previous research into the motivations of students to study abroad by using Ajzen's Theory of Planned Behavior as a theoretical basis for indentifying the factors which might influence their intention to study abroad. A survey administered to 188 business students and subsequent analysis supported Ajzen's theory that attitude, perceived behavioral control, and subjective norms all were significant predictors of intention. This study also identified gender specific differences in the various factors.
Measuring Osmotic Pressure of Poly(ethylene glycol) Solutions by Sedimentation Equilibrium Ultracentrifugation

The osmotic pressure of aqueous poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) solutions (400 and 8000 g/mol) was measured by sedimentation equilibrium (SE) ultracentrifugation over a concentration range of 0−50 wt % and over a temperature range of 10−40 °C. We have developed a procedure to cover a large polymer concentration range by performing a series of ultracentrifugation experiments at different loading concentrations. The SE data agreed well with previous measurements made using a vapor pressure osmometer. To facilitate conversion from concentration to osmotic pressure, the data were fitted to multivariable polynomial expressions as a function of the PEG-to-water ratio G and temperature T. The osmotic pressure of PEG solutions decreases with increasing temperature. We attribute this behavior to the release of structured water associated with the PEG chains which compared to bulk water has a lower entropy.
Pattern search in multi-structure data: a framework for the next-generation evidence-based medicine

With the impetus towards personalized and evidence-based medicine, the need for a framework to analyze/interpret quantitative measurements (blood work, toxicology, etc.) with qualitative descriptions (specialist reports after reading images, bio-medical knowledgebase, etc.) to predict diagnostic risks is fast emerging. Addressing this need, we pose and answer the following questions: (i) How can we jointly analyze and explore measurement data in context with qualitative domain knowledge? (ii) How can we search and hypothesize patterns (not known apriori) from such multi-structure data? (iii) How can we build predictive models by integrating weakly-associated multi-relational multi-structure data? We propose a framework towards answering these questions. We describe a software solution that leverages hardware for scalable in-memory analytics and applies next-generation semantic query tools on medical data.
Techniques and trends in sensor data processing: NASA experiences with Earth observing satellites

NASA's Earth Science Mission Operations and Systems (ESMOS) Project is responsible for developing and operating sensor data capture, processing and delivery systems on behalf of NASA's Earth Science Enterprise (ESE). As the volume of sensor data being collected by the next generation of Earth observing satellites continues to dramatically increase, the demand for timely data delivery has correspondingly increased. The ESMOS Project has utilized a variety of techniques and methodologies to provide sensor data to the end user, and has collected a series of lessons learned with regard to the most efficient implementations based on the needs of the end user. This paper discusses the successes achieved and the pitfalls encountered by NASA, NOAA and ESA and makes recommendations for changes and enhancements to maximize future mission sensor data processing.
Two-phase modeling of cavitated flows

Abstract This paper describes a computational method for the treatment of viscous, time-dependent, cavitated flows. The method has been applied to the solution of the laminar, axisymmetric, Navier-Stokes equations using a two-phase model to account for cavitated regions. The two-phase treatment is accomplished through the addition of a pseudo-density which varies in magnitude between the vapor and liquid densities. A new treatment has been developed to provide the additional relationship required as a result of the inclusion of this new fluid variable. The model has been compared to experimental data for external flows over axisymmetric headforms. In addition, both steady and unsteady calculations of an internal flow in a sharp-edged orifice passage are also discussed.
Unclassified Protists of Arthropods: The Ultrastructure of Nephridiophaga periplanetae (Lutz & Splendore, 1903) N. Comb., and the Affinities of the Nephridiophagidae to Other Protists

Observations by electron microscopy were conducted on Coelosporidium periplanetae (Lutz & Splendore, 1903) Swarczewsky, 1914, an extracellular sporogenic protist in the lumen of the Malpighian tubules of Blatta orientalis Linn., 1758 and other domiciliary cockroaches. Results generally agreed with earlier studies by light microscopy but also allowed a more complete characterization of the species. Some outstanding features of the protist were: amoeboid multinucleate stages (plasmodia) capable of producing cytoplasmic projections for attachment to microvilli of tubules, endogenous formation of spores, differentiation of “generative” and “somatic” nuclei in plasmodia undergoing spore formation, polarized early sporoblasts (a nucleus on one half and a chondriome on the other), and biconcave, ovoid, non-polarized spores that are retained until maturation by the plasmalemma and residual cytoplasm of the original plasmodium. The new combination Nephridiophaga periplanetae is proposed based on this new, updated information. The family name Nephridiophagidae Sprague, 1970 is resurrected to include N. periplanetae and eleven other species of protists in the Malpighian tubules of arthropods, mostly insects in the orders Dictyoptera and Coleoptera. According to its characteristics, the family Nephridiophagidae cannot be included into any of the currently recognized phyla of protists. It is suggested that it should be temporarily treated as an incertae sedis group of Protista.
The effects of smooth pursuit adaptation on the gain of visuomotor transmission in monkeys.

Smooth pursuit eye movements are supported by visual-motor systems, where visual motion information is transformed into eye movement commands. Adaptation of the visuomotor systems for smooth pursuit is an important factor to maintain pursuit accuracy and high acuity vision. Short-term adaptation of initial pursuit gain can be produced experimentally using by repeated trials of a step-ramp tracking with two different velocities (double-step paradigm) that step-up (10–30 °/s) or step-down (20–5 °/s). It is also known that visuomotor gain during smooth pursuit is regulated by a dynamic gain control mechanism by showing that eye velocity evoked by a target perturbation during pursuit increases bidirectionally when ongoing pursuit velocity is higher. However, it remains uncertain how smooth pursuit adaptation alters the gain of visuomotor transmission. Therefore, a single cycle of sinusoidal motion (2.5 Hz, ± 10 °/s) was introduced during step-ramp tracking pre- and post-adaptation to determine whether smooth pursuit adaptation affects the perturbation response. The results showed that pursuit adaptation had a significant effect on the perturbation response that was specific to the adapted direction. These results indicate that there might be different visuomotor mechanisms between adaptation and dynamic gain control. Furthermore, smooth pursuit adaptation altered not only the gain of the perturbation response, but also the gain slope (regression curve) at different target velocities (5, 10 and 15 °/s). Therefore, pursuit adaptation could affect the dynamic regulation of the visuomotor gain at different pursuit velocities.
Design of Surfaces for Patterned Alignment of Liquid Crystals on Planar and Curved Substrates

Molecularly designed surfaces formed by chemisorption of alkanethiols on ultrathin films of gold permit control of both the azimuthal and polar orientations of supported nematic liquid crystals (LCs). These surfaces, when patterned, form simple and versatile templates for the fabrication of complex optical structures from LCs. Surfaces patterned with odd or even alkanethiols, or mixtures of long and short alkanethiols, were used to fabricate tunable, micrometer-scale LC diffraction gratings that differed in their polarization sensitivity. Patterned alignment of LCs on curved surfaces is also demonstrated, thereby providing principles for fabrication of optical elements that combine diffractive and refractive optics.
Human Salivary Glycosidases

SummaryThe activity of several glycosidases—neuraminidase, α-galactosidase, β-galactosidase, α-glucosidase, β-glucosidase, β-N-acetylglucosaminidase, α-mannosidase, β-glucuronidase, and α-L-fucosidase—was assayed in whole, parotid, and submaxillary–sublingual human saliva as well as in mixed cultures of oral microflora. All of these enzymes were present in whole saliva and, with the exception of α-mannosidase, were also present in mixed broth cultures of oral organisms from the same subjects. Only α-L-fucosidase and β-N-acetylglucosaminidase were found in sterile parotid and submaxillary–sublingual saliva. The latter had peaks of optimal pH activity that differed from those of the corresponding bacterial enzymes recovered from the same subject. Since salivary glycosidases can degrade salivary mucins they may be capable, under certain conditions, of attacking the surface layer of mucus in the stomach.
Photoaffinity Labeling of Adenylate Cyclase‐Linked Serotonin Receptors in Aplysia Neurons

Serotonin stimulated adenylate cyclase in Aplysia neurons with a Kact of 0.7 microM. Under the same conditions, 1-[2-(4-aminophenyl)ethyl]4-(3-trifluoromethylphenyl)piperazine stimulated adenylate cyclase with a Kact of 20 microM. The azido derivative of this compound, 1-[2-(4-azidophenyl)ethyl]4-(3-trifluoromethylphenyl)piperazine, or of serotonin, (4-amino, 3-nitrophenylazido-serotonin), also stimulated the cyclase in the dark, but with lower efficiency (Kact greater than 10(-4) M). Irradiation of the membranes in the presence of 100 microM 1-[2-(4-azidophenyl)ethyl]4-(3-trifluoromethylphenyl)piperazine abolished 75% of the cyclase activity stimulated by 5 microM serotonin. Under the same conditions, 100 microM 4-amino, 3-nitrophenylazido-serotonin did not inhibit serotonin-stimulated adenylate cyclase activity. When [3H]1-[2-(4-azidophenyl)ethyl]4-(3-trifluoromethylphenyl)piperazine (20 microM) was irradiated with membranes for 5 min at 4 degrees C, a dozen peptides were labeled, as revealed by a fluorogram of sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gels. Among them, the labeling of five polypeptides (molecular weights of 45,000, 55,000, 63,000, 80,000, and 94,000) was protected by the presence of 0.2 mM serotonin during photolysis. These peptides may be related to serotonin receptors.
YBa2Cu3O7−x–Ag thick films deposited by pulsed laser ablation

Abstract Ag-doped YBa 2 Cu 3 O 7− x films, with thickness ranging from 0.06 to 2.5 μ m, were deposited by pulsed laser ablation onto (100) LaAlO 3 single-crystal substrates. The target was YBa 2 Cu 3 O 7− x with 5 wt.% Ag addition. The presence of Ag in the films in concentrations of ∼1 at.% was detected by X-ray fluorescence and secondary ion mass spectrometry (SIMS) analysis. Biaxial alignment of the films was indicated by φ scans with full-width-half-maximum (FWHM) spread of 1–2° for various thicknesses. Utilizing a standard deposition process, most films showed a critical transition temperature ( T c ) >90 K as measured by the ac susceptibility technique. Film critical current densities ( J c ) on the order of 10 6 A/cm 2 were measured at 77 K with a four-probe technique on a 100- μ m-wide patterned microbridge.
Chronic Ethanol Treatment Reduces the Responsiveness of the Hypothalamic-Pituitary-Thyroid Axis to Central Stimulation

The hypothalamic-pituitary-thyroid (HPT) axis functions abnormally in man and animals chronically exposed to ethanol. The most consistent observation in humans is that the thyrotropin response to thyrotropin-releasing hormone (TRH) is blunted. We have tested the hypothesis that chronic ethanol treatment in rats leads to a diminished responsiveness of the hypothalamus to central stimulation. Animals were maintained on 1 of 3 diets for 4 weeks: (1) laboratory chow and water provided ad libitum (chow-fed), (2) Sustacal chocolate liquid diet with vitamin mixture containing 5% (w/v) ethanol provided ad libitum (ethanol), or (3) Sustacal chocolate liquid diet with vitamin mixture containing sucrose substituted isocalorically (35%) for ethanol and provided in amounts matched to a weight-paired, ethanol-treated animal (pair-fed). At the end of 4 weeks, the animals were evaluated for their response to a single injection of ethanol (3 g/kg, ip) and/or exposure to 5 degrees C. Chronic ethanol treatment produced an increase in TRH mRNA in neurons of the paraventricular nucleus and fully blocked the thyrotropic response to cold exposure. However, chronic ethanol-treated animals did not exhibit altered basal levels of triiodothyronine or thyrotropin, nor did they have an altered response to a single injection of ethanol. These data demonstrate that chronic alcohol exposure alters functioning of the hypothalamic-pituitary-thyroid axis at least in part by affecting TRH neurons of the paraventricular nucleus.
Management of newly diagnosed single brain metastasis with surgical resection and permanent I-125 seeds without upfront whole brain radiotherapy

In this retrospective study, we evaluate the efficacy of surgical resection and I-125 seeds, without upfront whole brain radiotherapy (WBRT), for newly diagnosed single brain metastasis. About 40 women and 32 men underwent gross total resection and placement of permanent low-activity I-125 seeds at our institution (1997-2007). Primary systemic cancer sites varied. At follow-up (median 16 months), local control rate was 93%. Distant brain failures occurred in 23 (32%) patients: 5 patients within 3 months and 18 patients >3 months; brain failure underwent further treatment (i.e., radiosurgery in 13, WBRT in 5, surgical resection with I-125 seeds in 2). Four patients developed radiation necrosis. All 72 patients had stable or improved Karnofsky Performance Score at 1 month after surgery. Median actuarial survival rate was 14 months; 2-year survival rate was 27%. Permanent I-125 brachytherapy at initial operation without WBRT provided excellent local control. 67 patients (93%) never required WBRT, thus avoiding potential long-term radiation-induced neurotoxicity.