cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Salivary cortisol in preterm infants: Validation of a simple method for collecting saliva for cortisol determination

Abstract Background and aims The increased use of salivary cortisol as a biomarker of stress and/or diurnal rhythms has facilitated research of Hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenocortical (HPA) function. Saliva collection remains problematic with preterm infants. The twofold purpose of this study is to 1) establish validity of the filter paper method for saliva collection and 2) apply the filter paper method for saliva collection to preterm infants. Design and measures Whole saliva was collected from six normal adult subjects to create a pool. Validation measures included comparison of levels obtained from whole saliva and filter paper, an evaluation of storage effects, assessing spiking recovery, and measurement of linearity of dilution. In the application study, saliva was collected every three hours, before feedings for three consecutive days from 26 hospitalized preterm infants. Diurnal variation in cortisol was examined using hierarchical linear modeling and individual calculation of diurnal pattern using an accepted technique. Results Validation studies revealed acceptable recovery of whole saliva from filters, no effect of room temperature storage of filters for up to six months, and acceptable linearity of dilution up to 4×. Saliva from preterm infants was easily collected. Only 2% of the samples were lost due to inadequate wetting of the filters. An inverse association was found between postconceptional age and one-minute APGAR scores and infant cortisol levels. Variable daily cortisol patterns and no discernable rhythm were found for this sample; however, four infants appeared to show a typical diurnal pattern. Conclusions The filter paper method is a valid method of saliva collection that is feasible to use with preterm infants.
Voltage-gated ion channels and gating modifier toxins

Voltage-gated sodium, calcium, and potassium channels generate electrical signals required for action potential generation and conduction and are the molecular targets for a broad range of potent neurotoxins. These channels are built on a common structural motif containing six transmembrane segments and a pore loop. Their pores are formed by the S5/S6 segments and the pore loop between them, and they are gated by bending of the S6 segments at a hinge glycine or proline residue. The voltage sensor domain consists of the S1-S4 segments, with positively charged residues in the S4 segment serving as gating charges. The diversity of toxin action on these channels is illustrated by sodium channels, which are the molecular targets for toxins that act at six or more distinct receptor sites on the channel protein. Both hydrophilic low molecular weight toxins and larger polypeptide toxins physically block the pore and prevent sodium conductance. Hydrophobic alkaloid toxins and related lipid-soluble toxins act at intramembrane sites and alter voltage-dependent gating of sodium channels via an allosteric mechanism. In contrast, polypeptide toxins alter channel gating by voltage-sensor trapping through binding to extracellular receptor sites, and this toxin interaction has now been modeled at the atomic level for a beta-scorpion toxin. The voltage-sensor trapping mechanism may be a common mode of action for polypeptide gating modifier toxins acting on all of the voltage-gated ion channels.
Electrophysiological Remodeling in Human Atrial Fibrillation

Atrial fibrillation (AF) is a progressive disease characterized by cumulative electrophysiological and structural remodeling of the atria. Cellular electrophysiological studies have revealed marked reductions in the densities of the L-type voltage-gated Ca2+ current, ICa,L, the transient outward K+ current, ITO, and the ultra-rapid delayed rectifier K+ current, IKur, in atrial myocytes from patients in persistent or permanent AF. The density of the muscarinic K+ current (IKACh) is also reduced, however the inward rectifier K+ current (IK1) density is increased. The net shortening or lengthening of the action potential is dependent on the balance between changes in inward and outward currents. The prominent reduction in ICa,L appears to be sufficient to explain the observed decreases in action potential duration and effective refractory period that are characteristic of the fibrillating atria. Earlier studies have shown that calcium overload and perturbations in calcium handling play prominent roles in AF induced atrial remodeling. More recently, we have shown that AF is associated with evidence of oxidative injury to atrial tissue, and suggested that oxidative stress may directly contribute to the pathophysiology of AF. It is anticipated that insights gleaned from mechanistic studies will facilitate the development of improved pharmacological approaches to treat AF and to prevent the progression of arrhythmia.
Reduced Order Modeling Techniques for Dynamic Analysis of Mistuned Multi-Stage Turbomachinery Rotors

Recent findings indicate that structural interstage (stage-to-stage) coupling in multi-stage rotors can have a critical impact on bladed disk dynamics by altering significantly the flexibility of the disk. This affects local eigenfrequency veering characteristics, and thus a design’s sensitivity to mistuning. In response to these findings, two reduced order modeling techniques are presented that accurately capture structural interstage coupling effects, while keeping model sizes at practical levels. Both free and forced responses of an example two-stage rotor are examined using novel component-mode-based reduced order modeling techniques for mistuned multi-stage assemblies. Both techniques employ an intermediate multi-stage model constructed by component mode synthesis (CMS), which is further reduced by either: (a) partial secondary modal analyses on constraint-mode partitions; or (b) a full-scale secondary modal analysis on the entire multi-stage CMS model. The introduced techniques are evaluated using finite element results as a benchmark. The proposed reduced order modeling techniques are shown to facilitate accurate multi-stage modeling and analyses with or without blade mistuning, using only computationally inexpensive modal data from a cyclic disk sector and a single blade per stage. It is concluded that the most promising and practically feasible approach may be a combination of approaches (a) and (b), in which secondary modal analyses and truncations are first carried out on disk-blade constraint-mode partitions, followed by a tertiary modal analysis on the resulting multi-stage model. In conclusion, by alleviating the restriction to single-stage analyses, the presented multi-stage modeling techniques will enable engineers to analyze the dynamics of mistuned turbomachinery rotor assemblies with greater confidence.© 2001 ASME
Inference and coherence

A theory of text inferences is outlined, introducing some of the notions from a more complete treatment of text structure developed elsewhere. Three broad classes of natural inferences are distinguished: propositions, proposition elements, and proposition connectives. Within each class a number of types is proposed and exemplified, using short illustrative texts. Throughout, the emphasis is on the general formulation rather than on elaborating all of the detailed knowledge needed to fully justify any particular inference. Hence the framework offers a language for talking about and representing text inferences, without in any way denying the essential role that a rich and detailed knowledge base plays in making individual natural inferences. Further, it is proposed that the notion of text coherence or cohesion offers a useful criterion for deciding which of the inferences do belong at the text level of representation. Relative to current text research in psychology and artificial intelligence, the structur...
Nitric oxide deficiency in chronic renal disease

There is clear evidence that chronic inhibition of nitric oxide synthase (NOS) in animals causes hypertension and also leads to progressive kidney damage. There is also evidence that nitric oxide (NO) deficiency occurs in man with chronic kidney disease (CRD) and this may contribute to further progression of CRD, to hypertension, and to other cardiovascular complications. There are multiple ways in which NO deficiency develops in CRD. At end stage there are uremic factors in plasma that inhibit L-arginine transport into cells and this may cause a “net” substrate deficiency. Also, increases occur in endogenous NOS inhibitors, in particular asymmetric dimethylarginine (ADMA). The increased oxidative stress of CRD is likely to be a primary cause of the increased plasma ADMA since the catabolic enzyme, dimethylarginine dimethylaminohydrolase (DDAH) is extremely sensitive to inhibition by oxidants. Animal studies demonstrate a decrease in abundance of the neuronal NOS within the injured kidney that correlates with extent of injury. Overall, there is substantial clinical, “in vitro,” and animal data to suggest that systemic, endothelial, and renal NO deficiency is a common feature of CRD irrespective of the primary genesis of the disease. This NO deficiency, which is multifactorial, contributes to the progressive nature of the CRD and the endothelial dysfunction and associated risk for cardiovascular events. Strategies that reverse NOS inhibition and/or can boost the ability of the damaged kidney to produce NO might help preserve residual renal function and/or slow down the rate of progression to end stage.
Active classification with arrays of tunable chemical sensors

Abstract This paper presents Posterior-Weighted Active Search (PWAS), an active-sensing algorithm for classification of volatile compounds with arrays of tunable chemical sensors. The algorithm combines concepts from feature subset selection and sequential Bayesian filtering to optimize the sensor array tunings on-the-fly based on information from previous measurements. Namely, the algorithm maintains an estimate of the posterior probability associated with each chemical class, and updates it sequentially upon arrival of each new sensor observations. The updated posteriors are then used to bias the selection of the next sensor tunings towards the most likely classes, in this way reducing the number of measurements required for discrimination. We characterized PWAS on a database of infrared absorption spectra with 250 analytes, and then validated it experimentally on an array of metal-oxide sensors. Our results show that PWAS outperforms passive-sensing approaches based on sequential forward selection, both in terms of classification performance and robustness to noise in sensor measurements.
A modular drinking philosophers algorithm

A variant of the drinking philosophers algorithm of Chandy and Misra is described and proved correct in a modular way. The algorithm of Chandy and Misra is based on a particular dining philosophers algorithm and relies on certain properties of its implementation. The drinking philosophers algorithm presented in this paper is able to use an arbitrary dining philosophers algorithm as a subroutine; nothing about the implementation needs to be known, only that it solves the dining philosophers problem. An important advantage of this modularity is that by substituting a more time-efficient dining philosophers algorithm than the one used by Chandy and Misra, a drinking philosophers algorithm with O(1) worst-case waiting time is obtained, whereas the drinking philosophers algorithm of Chandy and Misra has O(n) worst-case waiting time (for n philosophers). Careful definitions are given to distinguish the drinking and dining philosophers problems and to specify varying degrees of concurrency.
Structural analysis of the uEGF gene in the sea urchin strongylocentrotus purpuratus reveals more similarity to vertebrate than to invertebrate genes with EGF-like repeats.

The gene uEGF, a member of the epidermal growth factor family in the sea urchinStrongylocentrotus purpuratus, is known to express two transcripts that are regulated developmentally in the embryo. We have partially sequenced several uEGF genomic and cDNA clones. We suggest that the smaller transcript is the result of splicing out an internal region present in the larger mRNA, probably with eight EGF-like repeats. The predicted two uEGF products have a signal peptide followed by an EGF-like repeat and a region with approximately 120 amino acids homologous to domain III in complement component C1s. Following these domains, the short product has 12 tandem EGF-like repeats, whereas the long product has approximately 20 tandem repeats. At the carboxy terminus both products have a region homologous to avidin. UnlikeNotch andlin-12, no transmembrane domain was found in uEGF. We also show here that uEGF shares two characteristics with vertebrate members of the EGF family, but not with invertebrate members of the same family. (1) All the EGF-like domains sequenced are represented by single exons. (2) All the introns sequenced follow the first nucleotide of a codon. This supports the hypothesis that the organization of the EGF-like domains in vertebrates and in uEGF derived from a common ancestor. Thus, an alternative molecular datum is provided to support the hypothesis of echinoderm-chordate relationships.
Current methods of dynamic analysis for seismic stability of earth dams

Abstract Two methods of analysis of the seismic stability of earth dams, as used by the U.S. Army Engineer Waterways Experiment Station (WES), are presented in outline form. Analysis of the potential for liquefaction under seismic loading is based on the equivalent linear two-dimensional analysis developed by Seed, Lee, and Idriss. Procedures for analysis of permanent displacements, or safety against failure by sliding, have been developed by WES on the basis of work by Newmark, Ambraseys, and Sarma.
A simulation study of certain performance characteristics of the CTI-931 PET tomograph

The authors have used their positron emission tomography (PET) design algorithm to evaluate certain performance characteristics of the CTI-931 PET tomograph. The simulation model takes into account the characteristics of the source, the interplane collimators, the scintillation crystals, the photomultiplier tubes, and the coincidence detection schemes. The results of the simulation are compared with experimental measurements from the CTI-931 tomograph, and are found to be in good agreement. The authors studied true and random coincidence rates, and noise effective count rates as a function of activity concentration of the phantom. >
Fast GPU-based space-time correlation for activity recognition in video sequences

Action recognition is becoming an important component of many computer vision applications such as video surveillance, video indexing and browsing. However most of the space time approaches to action recognition are very computationally expensive which prevents us from using them in real-time applications. This paper describes how Graphic Processing Units (GPUs) can be used in the field of action recognition to speed up this process. We implement a space-time behavior based correlation scheme on NVIDIA Quadro FX 5600 GPU and gain a 50x speedup over its counterpart CPU implementation.
Morphology of the Fetal Rat Testis Preserved in Different Fixatives

Histopathological examination of the testes of exposed fetuses and neonates is important in assessing the developmental effects of environmental toxins, including sex hormone modulators. Modified Davidson's fluid (mDF) has been suggested as a superior substitute for Bouin's fluid for fixation of adult animal testes. We compared the morphology of fetal rat testes stained with hematoxylin and eosin (H&E) or immunochemically after fixation in 10% neutral buffered formalin (NBF), Bouin's fluid, or mDF. Fixation in mDF resulted in more sharply defined nuclear detail and better preservation of cellular cytoplasm on H&E-stained sections of rat testes on gestation day 19. Use of Bouin's fluid did not allow satisfactory detection of apoptotic cells by fluorescent terminal deoxynucleotide transferase-mediated deoxy-UTP nick labeling. Staining with the immunoperoxidase system and the conventional chromogen diaminobenzidine tetrahydrochloride to visualize 5-bromo-2-deoxyuridine-positive cells demonstrated that the number of positive nuclei and intensity of staining were similar with all 3 fixatives. Immunostaining for cytoskeletal protein vimentin was more intense and provided better details of the Sertoli cell cytoplasm with formalin fixation than with mDF. Our study demonstrates that fixation in mDF provided better morphologic detail in the fetal rat testis compared with 10% NBF and Bouin's fluid and illustrates the importance of establishing the correct fixation conditions for each immunostaining protocol.
piRNA function in germline development

Small non-coding RNAs bound to Argonaute (Ago) proteins have emerged as major players in epigenetic regulation of gene expression in plants and animals. The effector RNA molecules include the 21–25 nucleotide (ntd) long microRNAs (miRNAs) and the small interfering RNAs (siRNAs), which direct sequence specific target mRNA silencing. Based on phylogenetic analysis, Argonaute proteins can be subdivided into two subfamilies- Ago clade and Piwi clade. While, siRNAs and miRNAs associate with the Ago clade Argonautes, recent studies have identified a class of 24–30 ntd long Piwi-interacting RNAs (piRNAs), which bind to Piwi clade Argonautes. The piRNAs have important roles in germline development in flies, fish and mice. Here, we review recent studies bearing on the biological roles of piRNAs in the germline.
Corn ethanol growth in the USA without adverse foreign land‐use change: defining limits and devising policies

This study addresses the question: ‘How does a 15 billion gallon per year renewable fuel standard (RFS) compare to the capacity of the US corn market to generate necessary input supplies for the ethanol industry?’ The analysis accounts for adjustments in world corn and soybean markets, including corn technology improvements (yield increases) that allow substantial production growth on the existing corn area, and byproduct (DDG) replacement of displaced corn-feed demand. Our midpoint estimate suggests that increased production on foreign lands only accounts for a small fraction (6%) of the RFS demand expansion. Further, corn yield response to moderate price increases would likely offset much of the foreign production increase. US policies that could sever any remaining link between US ethanol expansion and environmentally sensitive regions of the world feed economy are discussed. Copyright © 2010 Society of Chemical Industry and John Wiley & Sons, Ltd
A Review of the Community Reinforcement Approach in the Treatment of Opioid Dependence

This article reviews the Community Reinforcement Approach (CRA) in the treatment of opioid dependence. It covers the use of CRA with both methadone maintenance patients and patients withdrawing from opioids. The data reviewed in the use of CRA in combination with methadone maintenance shows improvement in a number of areas. These include the reduction of opioid use, as well as other drugs of abuse, improved legal status, less psychiatric symptoms, and improved vocational and social functioning. CRA coupled with vouchers can assist in retaining patients in treatment long enough to improve opioid detoxification rates from buprenorphine and coupled with naltrexone may sustain abstinence. Further, the use of a standardized computerized format may extend the utility of CRA.
Think different: increasing online community participation using uniqueness and group dissimilarity

Online communities can help people form productive relationships. Unfortunately, this potential is not always fulfilled: many communities fail, and designers don't have a solid understanding of why. We know community activity begets activity. The trick, however, is to inspire participation in the first place. Social theories suggest methods to spark positive community participation. We carried out a field experiment that tested two such theories. We formed discussion communities around an existing movie recommendation web site, manipulating two factors: (1) similarity-we controlled how similar group members' movie ratings were; and (2) uniqueness-we told members how their movie ratings (with respect to a discussion topic) were unique within the group. Both factors positively influenced participation. The results offer a practical success story in applying social science theory to the design of online communities.
Multi-PRI Signal Processing for the Terminal Doppler Weather Radar. Part II: Range–Velocity Ambiguity Mitigation

Abstract Multiple pulse-repetition interval (multi-PRI) transmission is part of an adaptive signal transmission and processing algorithm being developed to combat range–velocity (RV) ambiguity for the Terminal Doppler Weather Radar (TDWR). In Part I of this two-part paper, an adaptive clutter filtering procedure that yields low biases in the moments estimates was presented. In this part, algorithms for simultaneously providing range-overlay protection and velocity dealiasing using multi-PRI signal transmission and processing are presented. The effectiveness of the multi-PRI RV ambiguity mitigation scheme is demonstrated using simulated and real weather radar data, with excellent results. Combined with the adaptive clutter filter, this technique will be used within the larger context of an adaptive signal transmission and processing scheme in which phase-code processing will be a complementary alternative.
Seq2pathway: an R/Bioconductor package for pathway analysis of next-generation sequencing data

Summary: Seq2pathway is an R/Python wrapper for pathway (or functional gene-set) analysis of genomic loci, adapted for advances in genome research. Seq2pathway associates the biological significance of genomic loci with their target transcripts and then summarizes the quantified values on the gene-level into pathway scores. It is designed to isolate systematic disturbances and common biological underpinnings from next-generation sequencing (NGS) data. Seq2pathway offers Bioconductor users enhanced capability in discovering collective pathway effects caused by both coding genes and cis-regulation of non-coding elements. Availability and implementation: The package is freely available at http://www.bioconductor.org/
Construction of a Deterministic ω-Automaton Using Derivatives

A deterministic automaton recognizing a given ω -regular language is constructed from an ω -regular expression with the help of derivatives. The construction is related to Safra's algorithm, in about the same way as the classical derivative method is related to the subset construction.
Compressed domain transcoding of MPEG

Current video compression formats optimize for either compression or editing. For example, motion-JPEG (MJPEG) provides excellent random access and moderate overall compression, while MPEG optimizes for compression at the expense of random access. Converting from one format to another, a process called transcoding, is often desirable over the life of a video segment. The paper shows how to transcode MPEG-1 video to motion-JPEG without fully decompressing the MPEG-1 source. The described technique for compressed domain transcoding differs from previous work because it uses a new approximation approach that is optimized for software implementations. This new approach is 1.5 to 3 times faster than spatial domain transcoders and offers an additional degree of freedom: higher transcoding speeds can be obtained at the price of lower picture quality. This speed/quality trade-off is useful in many real time applications such as offline editing and video gateways.
Feedback control with queueing-theoretic prediction for relative delay guarantees in web servers

The use of feedback control theory for performance guarantees in QoS-aware systems has gained much attention in recent years. In this paper, we investigate merging, within a single framework, the predictive power of queueing theory with the reactive power of feedback control to produce software systems with a superior ability to achieve QoS specifications in highly unpredictable environments. The approach is applied to the problem of achieving relative delay guarantees in high-performance servers. Experimental evaluation of this approach on an Apache web server shows that the combined schemes perform significantly better in terms of keeping the relative delay on target compared to feedback control or queueing prediction alone.
Fluorogenic DNA sequencing in PDMS microreactors

We developed a multiplex sequencing-by-synthesis method combining terminal phosphate–labeled fluorogenic nucleotides (t PlFns) and resealable polydimethylsiloxane (P dms ) microreactors. in the presence of phosphatase, primer extension by dnA polymerase using nonfluorescent t PlFns generates fluorophores, which are confined in the microreactors and detected. We immobilized primed dnA templates in the microreactors, then sequentially introduced one of the four identically labeled t PlFns, sealed the microreactors and recorded a fluorescence image after template-directed primer extension. With cycle times of <10 min, we demonstrate 30 base reads with ~99% raw accuracy. our ‘fluorogenic pyrosequencing’ offers benefits of pyrosequencing, such as rapid turnaround, one-color detection and generation of native dnA, along with high detection sensitivity and simplicity of parallelization because simultaneous real-time monitoring of all microreactors is not required.
Neonatal neutrophils: the good, the bad, and the ugly.

Neonates are at considerable risk for bacterial and fungal infections, due in great part to a variety of age-related impairments in neutrophil function. In addition, evidence suggests that the tendency of the most immature neonates to develop chronic inflammatory disorders is also related to neutrophil dysfunction. This article provides an overview of specific functional deficiencies of neutrophils that have been reported in neonates.
Stop burdening your eyes: A wearable electro-tactile display

Mobile phone calls are often missed due to the user not hearing the phone ring or feeling it vibrate. We present the design of wearable textile-based electro-tactile display embedded in a wristband that can be integrated with current mobile phones and wearable computers. The display provides the user with an unobtrusive alert that is easy to distinguish. We explore several aspects of directional patterns for a design of electro-tactile stimulation while maintaining an appropriate form factor for a wristband.
Can CMOS resist the BiCMOS challenge

It is pointed out that the traditional CMOS-BiCMOS comparison of isolated circuits driving capacitive loads is not adequate. When multistage circuits and chip wiring resistance are also considered, CMOS is shown to be very competitive. In a high-performance BiCMOS logic chip design, 96% of the circuits can be converted to CMOS. For low-capacitance nets and nets with enough delay margin, CMOS is the clear preference due to its better density, circuit simplicity, lower sensitivity to wiring resistance, lower dl/dt and clear migration path to the next technology generation. CMOS is expected to remain the dominant circuit type for logic. >
Changing Communicative Needs, Revised Assessment Objectives: Testing English as an International Language

Postmodern globalization requires that students strive for competence in a repertoire of English varieties as they shuttle between multilingual communities. From this perspective, the current debate becomes irrelevant regarding whether local varieties or dominant varieties (British/American) be used in international proficiency tests. Because it is unwise to define proficiency based on a single variety and because it is impossible to teach or measure proficiency in many varieties simultaneously, we have to consider revising the dominant paradigms of assessment. The changing pedagogical priorities suggest that we have to move away from a reliance on discrete-item tests on formal grammatical competence and develop instruments that are sensitive to performance and pragmatics. In effect, assessment would focus on strategies of negotiation, situated performance, communicative repertoire, and language awareness.
The carbon cycle for Lake Washington—A stable isotope study1

The authors investigate the carbon cycle in Lake Washington for the year 1980 using monthly measurements of the dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC) and its /sup 13/C:/sup 12/C isotopic composition. Mass balances of DIC and its /sup 13/C:/sup 12/C yield estimates of CO/sub 2/ gas exchange rates and net organic carbon production rates. Between 24 June and 13 August, the calculated CO/sub 2/ gas invasion rate of 0.80 x 10/sup 6/ mol C d/sup -1/ is nearly equal to the river DIC inflow rate. The calculated epilimnetic net organic carbon production rate is 0.68 x 10/sup 6/ mol C d/sup -1/, about 20-30% of primary productivity estimated from /sup 14/C-fixation experiments and ETS-derived respiration rates. Metalimnetic and hypolimnetic DIC increase rates and porewater DIC gradients in hypolimnetic sediments indicate that remineralization of particulate organic carbon (POC) previously deposited in the sediments is a major (0.5 x 10/sup 6/ mol C d/sup -1/) DIC source to the lake during summer. For the whole year, summertime CO/sub 2/ gas invasion balances wintertime CO/sub 2/ gas evasion and DIC and POC outflow balance DIC and POC inflow rates, implying no net carbon burial in the sediments during 1980. This contrasts with the measured longmore » term sedimentation-rate-derived carbon burial rate of 0.8 x 10/sup 6/ mol C d/sup -1/. Year-to-year variability in summertime primary production rates largely determines net gains or losses of carbon via CO/sub 2/ gas exchange and sedimentation.« less
Location privacy protection on social networks

Location information is considered as private in many scenarios. Location information protection on social networks has not been paid much attention. In this paper, we extend our previous proposed location privacy protection approach on the basis of user messages in social networks. Our approach grants flexibility to users by offering them multiple protecting options. The extension includes performance evaluation towards our approach.
What does a "superstitious" person believe? Impressions of participants.

The questions in surveys in which superstitious belief is examined are based on the researcher or researchers' definitions of superstition and not on participants' definitions. In the present study, 170 undergraduates filled out 2 surveys. In the 1st survey, they were asked to rate 28 possible beliefs of a fictitious person described as "superstitious." In the 2nd survey, they were asked to rate their own level of belief for the same items. An analysis revealed several different factors describing different types of beliefs held by the fictitious person. Ratings for the fictitious person were greatest for socially transmitted beliefs (e.g., black cats, rabbits' feet) or idiosyncratic rituals related to luck and chance, followed by belief in the paranormal (e.g., ghosts), spiritualism (e.g., reincarnation), or psi (e.g., telepathy). Religious beliefs were rated as not being descriptive of the fictitious superstitious person. However, an analysis of the participants' own beliefs revealed that those with higher levels of religious belief also tended to be superstitious and believed in the paranormal.
Quantification of Risks Associated With a Representative Production Well in the Gulf of Mexico

After Macondo incident a great effort is under way to improve the safety of deepwater drilling and production operations and enhance the capabilities of different well barrier to stop the oil spill on its earliest stages. This study is a part of that collective effort to make offshore operations safe and decrease the associated risks. The main objective of this study is to quantify and categorize the risk associated with a representative well in the Gulf of Mexico during its normal production operations. In order to achieve an appropriate balance between safety and economics of deepwater oil and gas operations, Quantitative Risk Assessment (QRA) techniques can be successfully used. Quantified risk is computed from the product of blowout frequency and volume of oil spilled as a consequence. Blowout frequency is calculated from Fault Tree Analysis (FTA) and spilled oil volume is estimated from simulating multiphase fluid flow and heat transfer in wellbores.A large number wells are completed with some sort of bottom hole sand control elements to prevent production of sand. The failure of these control elements may have severe consequence and in some cases may result in uncontrolled hydrocarbon flow to the environment as well. A representative production well from the Mississippi Canyon in the Gulf of Mexico is selected for the for quantitative risk assessment (QRA) analysis. The well is completed with cased hole gravel pack and with sand control elements in place. The representative reservoir properties for this well are selected from the literature and uncertainties in properties are accounted for by fitting lognormal distribution and carrying out Monte Carlo simulations. P50 value for the reservoir properties from Monte Carlo simulation is used to find worst case discharge rates by using a commercially available multiphase flow simulator with black oil model.A Fault Tree is constructed to find the blowout probability based on the equipment failure data. From the minimal cut set method the importance and sensitivity of different well barrier is analyzed and most important areas to focus on are identified. The analysis showed that the constructed fault tree is most sensitive to sand screen failures, followed by subsea production tree and delayed response to a situation of immediate concern.Copyright © 2015 by ASME
Seasonal Preservation Success of the Marine Dinoflagellate Coral Symbiont, Symbiodinium sp.

Coral reefs are some of the most diverse and productive ecosystems on the planet, but are threatened by global and local stressors, mandating the need for incorporating ex situ conservation practices. One approach that is highly protective is the development of genome resource banks that preserve the species and its genetic diversity. A critical component of the reef are the endosymbiotic algae, Symbiodinium sp., living within most coral that transfer energy-rich sugars to their hosts. Although Symbiodinium are maintained alive in culture collections around the world, the cryopreservation of these algae to prevent loss and genetic drift is not well-defined. This study examined the quantum yield physiology and freezing protocols that resulted in survival of Symbiodinium at 24 h post-thawing. Only the ultra-rapid procedure called vitrification resulted in success whereas conventional slow freezing protocols did not. We determined that success also depended on using a thin film of agar with embedded Symbiodinium on Cryotops, a process that yielded a post-thaw viability of >50% in extracted and vitrified Symbiodinium from Fungia scutaria, Pocillopora damicornis and Porites compressa. Additionally, there also was a seasonal influence on vitrification success as the best post-thaw survival of F. scutaria occurred in winter and spring compared to summer and fall (P < 0.05). These findings lay the foundation for developing a viable genome resource bank for the world’s Symbiodinium that, in turn, will not only protect this critical element of coral functionality but serve as a resource for understanding the complexities of symbiosis, support selective breeding experiments to develop more thermally resilient strains of coral, and provide a ‘gold-standard’ genomics collection, allowing for full genomic sequencing of unique Symbiodinium strains.
Ultrasound-Guided Navigation System for Orthognathic Surgery

Around 1–2 % of the US population has craniofacial deformities severe enough to be disabling and stigmatizing, and could benefit from orthognathic surgery. This surgery involves repositioning the jaws, due to the unique features of each patient’s teeth, jaws, and joint. Approximately 20 % of patients who had mandibular advancement surgery experience moderate relapse 1–5 years after surgery. We believe ultrasound is a promising imaging technology for orthognathic surgery guidance that can assist surgeons to visualize the condyle/ramus segment in order to guide it into its pre-surgical, biologically stable position. This paper explores the role of 3D ultrasound imaging as a real-time surgical guidance to improve treatment outcomes for orthognathic surgery. This paper shows our work designing a 3D ultrasound volume reconstruction system and our results demonstrating its ability to capture the bony structures of the mandible, compared with those structures reconstructed from pre-surgical Cone Beam Computed Tomography (CBCT).
A National Survey of the Effect of Sleep Medicine Specialists and American Academy of Sleep Medicine Accreditation on Management of Obstructive Sleep Apnea

STUDY OBJECTIVES To study the effect of American Academy of Sleep Medicine accreditation of sleep centers and sleep-medicine certification of physicians on the management of patients with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). DESIGN Cross-sectional study. SETTING National web-based survey. PATIENTS Six hundred thirty-two patients with OSA. INTERVENTIONS None. MEASUREMENTS AND RESULTS Self-reported data on details of whether patients with OSA were using positive airway pressure (PAP) devices, timeliness of the initiation of PAP therapy, and overall satisfaction of care received from physicians and centers. After adjusting for covariates, lack of accreditation or certification status of providers was independently associated with discontinuation of PAP therapy (odds ratio [OR] 1.9, 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.1-3.2; p = .03). Patient education leading to perception of risk associated with OSA (OR 0.5, 95% CI, 0.2-0.9) and medications for nasal congestion (OR 0.3, 95% CI, 0.1-0.8) "protected" against discontinuation of PAP therapy, whereas nasal congestion (OR 1.6, 95% Cl, 1.0-2.4) increased the likelihood for discontinuation of PAP therapy. Certified physicians and accredited centers were more likely to educate their patients and received greater satisfaction ratings than non-certified physicians and nonaccredited centers (p < .05). Time delays in instituting PAP therapy were not influenced by accreditation or certification status, but such delays diminished patient satisfaction. CONCLUSIONS In this web-based survey, accreditation or certification status of sleep centers and physicians was associated with better indexes of clinical management in patients with OSA. Better patient education that fostered risk perception may have been partly responsible for such an association. Prospective studies designed to collect objective data regarding the effect of accreditation or certification status on outcomes in patients with OSA are still needed.
Squeeze Flow Models for Thermal Interface Materials Contained Between Parallel Plates and Plates With Posts

In this paper, motivated by a need to develop heat spreaders with post-containing (or nested channeled) configurations, we develop analytical models for the Squeeze Flow behavior of particle-filled Thermal Interface Materials (TIMs) between parallel plates and those with posts. The fluids are modeled as either Newtonian, or as Bingham fluids. The pressure distribution is analytically described for axisymmetric and non-axisymmetric configurations of fluids squeezed between parallel plates as well as for non-planar configurations with a cylindrical post at the center of one of the two circular plates. The developed analytical solutions to Newtonian behavior of the fluids are validated using squeeze flow models created in a commercial finite element code (COMSOL). The analysis for non-planar geometries is verified that as the post height is reduced to zero, the developed solution reduces to that of the parallel plate configuration. The influence of the height of the post on the force is systematically analyzed from which it is observed that the force required to compress the fluid increases with the post height. With increased post height, the force solution deviates by a greater amount from the parallel plate solution. The Bond-Line Thickness (BLT) of Newtonian and Bingham fluids contained within circular plates is determined. It is shown that materials with greater yield strength produce higher BLTs. The effect of backpressure is also shown to increase the BLT. Lastly, it is shown that as particles are added into the fluid, the effective viscosity increases and as a result a greater force is required to squeeze the fluid material.Copyright © 2011 by ASME
Oxytocin and Mothers' Developmental Effects on Their Daughters

Clinical observations and research in human and nonhuman primates show clearly that nurturing received during infancy and childhood influences the quality of parental and other social behaviors as well as the ability to cope with stress during adulthood. Analogous effects of early nurturing on adult outcomes have been demonstrated in rodents in recent years. This chapter summarizes the numerous ways in which the neuropeptide oxytocin (OT) contributes to mothers' developmental effects on their daughters. Earlier studies found that disruptions of central OT inhibited the onset of all components of maternal behavior in parturient or ovarian steroid-treated female rats but did not appear to affect established mothering behavior. By making numerous observations, it is demonstrated that OT selectively enhances frequencies of the pup-licking (PL) and kyphotic nursing (KN) components of well-established maternal behavior in lactating rats as well as the PL component of spontaneous maternal behavior in nulliparous C57BL/J6 mice. Among the strongest findings is that central OT contributes to as much as 40% of mothers' PL and KN frequencies, those components of maternal behavior that exert the greatest developmental effects on their daughters. The amount of PL and KN received during the early postnatal period appears to determine the degree to which OT facilitates these components of maternal behavior in adult daughters possibly by influencing how much OT binding is upregulated in daughters' brains by rising estrogen levels during late pregnancy.
Infection after heart transplantation: a multiinstitutional study

The incidence, causes, and impact of acute infection were analyzed among 814 consecutive patients from 24 institutions undergoing primary heart transplantation between January 1, 1990, and June 30, 1991, with mean follow-up of 8.2 months (range 0 to 18 months). Sixty-nine percent of the patients had no infections during the follow-up, whereas 31% of patients had one or more infection episodes. The cumulative incidence of infections per patient was 0.41 at 3 months, 0.55 at 6 months, and 0.62 at 12 months after transplantation. Bacterial and viral infections were most common (47% and 41% of infections), with fungi and protozoa accounting for 12%. Overall mortality per infection was 13%, but mortality with fungal infections was higher (36%, p < 0.0001). The most common organ infected was the lung, with a mortality of 23%. The probability of infection by 12 months was higher when OKT3 or antithymocyte globulin induction therapy was used (41% versus 35%, p = 0.01). The single most frequent infecting organism was cytomegalovirus, accounting for 26% of all infections. The probability of cytomegalovirus infection by 12 months was increased with a cytomegalovirus-positive donor and cytomegalovirus-negative recipient (27% versus 15% in all others, p < 0.0001) and with the use of OKT3 or antithymocyte globulin induction therapy (19% versus 12% without induction therapy, p = 0.07). Infection remains the leading cause of death after heart transplantation. The hazard function of likelihood of developing each type of infection at various times after transplantation, as well as response to therapy, are discussed.
The Cooperation of the European Union with Employer and Labor Associations

The cooperation of labor and employer associations with the European Union (EU) has evolved in several stages, leading to an increasing differentiation and variety of interaction modes and policy outputs. This chapter describes the involvement of social partner organizations as an essential part of the evolution of regulatory social policy-making in the EU since the early 1990s, opening two main perspectives of research: first, the analysis of the institutional framework, density, and interaction forms of various forms of public–private partnership at the EU level, and second, its effect on the effectiveness and legitimacy of European policies and their implementation at the Member State level. As demonstrated in the chapter, a rich literature has evolved on the subject, indicating the potential and shortcomings of social partner involvement.
Macrophages Influence Vessel Formation in 3D Bioactive Hydrogels

Macrophages may play a beneficial role in blood vessel development. To study the role of macrophages in vessel development for regenerative medicine, a bioactive poly(ethylene glycol)-based hydrogel scaffold that is modified for integrin-mediated cell adhesion and biodegradation by matrix-metalloproteinases 2 and 9 is utilized. This scaffold serves as a tunable cell microenvironment and supports the formation of microvascular networks. When encapsulated with endothelial cells, macrophages enhance vessel tubule volume within the hydrogel by nearly twofold compared to endothelial cells alone in hydrogels. Additionally, macrophages in the hydrogel alter their morphology in an endothelial cell-dependent manner. Macrophages alone maintain high circularity with only 1% of the population demonstrating circularity ≤0.5 (indicating cell spreading), but when co-encapsulated with endothelial cells, 46% of macrophages have a circularity ≤0.5. Macrophages 0–5 µm away from an endothelial cell have a circularity of 0.48 ± 0.22 whereas macrophages >20 µm away have a circularity of 0.83 ± 0.07. Two types of macrophage–endothelial cell interactions are seen: macrophages behaving as pericyte-like cells and macrophages bridging between endothelial cells. Macrophages may be a novel cell target for regenerative medicine efforts where vasculature is often vital to success.
The group ring ℤ(p)Cq and Ye’s theorem

We generalize Ye’s Theorem which states that the group ring ℤ(p)[C3] is a semi-clean ring [Y. Ye, Semiclean rings, Comm. Algebra 31 (2003) 5609–5625]. The proof provided here is more efficient; it is less algorithmic but has the feature that the following statement is evident: for distinct primes p,q, the group ring ℤ(p)Cq is feebly clean if and only if the order of p modulo q is at least q−1 2.
Handling or Mechanical Removal as Alternatives in an E-Maze

Albino rats (N = 12) were tested with free trials in an E-Maze to determine their preference for removal by the E or by a mechanical handling box. None of the Ss were deprived of food or water and the only apparent reinforcement was removal from the maze. Half of the Ss had a history of handling by E whereas the other six had not been handled before their first removal from the goal box. The results suggested that the prehandled rats preferred removal by E whereas untamed Ss preferred mechanical removal.