cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
The efficacy of lumbosacral transforaminal epidural steroid injections: a comprehensive literature review.

Background: There have been a number of recent studies showing the effectiveness of lumbosacral transforaminal steroid epidural injections used in the treatment of radicu lar pain. The studies include retrospective, prospective a nd randomized controlled studies. Thus, the data is valuable with regard t o identifying evidence based recommendations that can be used for clinical practitioners. Purpose: To review and critically evaluate literature focusing on t he efficacy of lumbosacral transforaminal steroid injectio ns. The goal of this review is to identify pertinent journal info rmation that aids in the improvement of clinical care and guides future research by increasing the awareness of the efficacy of this p rocedure. Study design: A comprehensive literature review of the efficacy of lumbar sacral transforaminal epidural steroid injections. Methods: Medical databases were searched for key words of transforaminal lumbar sacral, anatomy, and efficacy of steroid injection using Pub Med, Medline, Cochrane databases and U.S. National Library of Medicine. Works cited lists were then searched and cross-referenced as well. Articles focusing solely on interlaminar and caudal steroid injections were excluded as were transforaminal studies focusing on the cervical spine. Also, articles were excluded that did not differentiate th e type of technique with type of relief it produced. Papers focusing on the efficacy of lumbosacral transforaminal steroid inject ions were included in the data that followed the patient for three months or greater. Results: In all there were 10 randomized trials, 4 retrospective stud ies and 8 prospective studies found. Among the 10 randomized control studies only 8 met inclusion criteria. All 8 of the ra ndomized control studies included show a positive outcome in both the short term and long term results. There were a total of 9 prospective trials showing a positive short term and long term outcome and that used both CT guided injections as well as fluoroscopi c injections. Conclusion: This systemic review included prospective, retrospective and randomized clinical trials showing that there was strong evidence for transforaminal injections in the treatment of lumbosacral radicular pain for both short term and long term relief.
Health system intervention: back of the envelope to statewide transformation of occupational health care delivery.

Washington State has been a national leader in efforts to improve the workers' compensation (WC) health care delivery system. In 2002, the WA Department of Labor and Industries (DLI) initiated a major system intervention to improve quality and outcomes in WC health care. Two Centers of Occupational Health and Education (COHE) were developed as pilot sites to test the intervention, which included physician financial incentives to reward the adoption of occupational health best practices, improved care coordination, use of evidence-based protocols to improve clinical care, and development of patient tracking systems. We conducted a rigorous evaluation to determine whether COHE patients, compared with non-COHE comparison group patients, had reduced work disability and decreased disability and medical expenditures (n = 105,607). Throughout the 8 years of evaluation, the research team worked closely with statewide and local COHE advisory groups to maintain critical support for the initiative. The evaluation showed the COHE was associated (p < 0.001) with: (1) a 30% decrease in the likelihood of long-term (one-year) disability, (2) a reduction of 4 disability days per case, and (3) a decrease of $267 in disability costs per claim (and non-significant reduction in medical costs). These evaluation results, coupled with the strong advisory group support, led to the passage of a state law in March 2011 expanding the COHE on a statewide permanent basis, with over 1,800 physicians now participating in the expanded COHE network. Our research demonstrates the importance of: (1) evaluators working closely with key stakeholder groups to engender critical support for a system intervention and to help overcome political opposition that may arise, (2) conducting rigorous evaluation research to determine the effects of the system intervention, and (3) where possible reducing the administrative burden of physicians. Funding for the COHE system.
Susceptibility of mycobacterium avium complex and mycobacterium xenopi to rifampin, rifapentine, clarithromycin and moxifloxacin, alone or in combination with ethambutol

Background: Pulmonary disease due to M. avium complex [MAC], and M. xenopi [Mx]) is a growing health problem in industrialized countries and the optimal antibiotic treatment is still debated. We conducted a in vitro study to evaluate the activity of the main antibiotics on MAC and Mx. Methods: For MAC strain 101 and Mx ATCC strain 700898, minimal inhibitory concentrations (MICs), of clarithromycin (CLA), moxifloxacin (MXF), rifampin (RIF), rifapentine (RPT), ethambutol (EMB) were determined on 7H11 media. Inoculum was 2.7 log10 CFU of Mx and 4.5 log10 CFU of MAC. Plates were read after 28 days of incubation at 37°C (MAC) or 42°C (Mx). MIC was defined as the lowest drug concentration that inhibits ≥99% of colonies compared to control. Combinations of EMB-RIF, EMB-RPT, MXF-CLA and EMB-MXF for Mx and MAC were tested using the checkerboard method. Results: For MAC, MIC was >4 for CLA, 2 for MXF, >16 for RIF, >4 for RPT, 16 for EMB. For Mx, MIC was >4 for CLA, 2 for MXF, >16 for RIF, 4 for RPT, 16 for EMB. For both Mx and MAC, MIC was 1 for CLA when we used Mueller Hinton media (pH=7.3 for Mueller Hinton media vs pH=6.6 for 7H11). Synergy was observed for EMB-RIF, EMB-MXF, MXF-CLA against Mx, and for EMB-RPT against both Mx and MAC. An additive effect was found for CLA-MXF, EMB-RIF, EMB-MXF against MAC. Conclusion: The addition of EMB decreased the MIC of RPT against both MAC and Mx and decreased MIC of MXF and RIF against Mx. So, EMB could increase the in vivo activity of these antibiotics against these mycobacterial opportunistic pathogens. No antagonism between MXF and CLA was found.
K and Cl concentrations on the Martian surface determined by the Mars Odyssey Gamma Ray Spectrometer: Implications for bulk halogen abundances in Mars

[1] Orbital gamma ray spectrometry shows that the Martian surface has a mean Cl/K ratio of 1.3 ± 0.2, indistinguishable from the ratio in CI chondrites (1.28). Although Cl and K fractionate by magma degassing and aqueous processing, during igneous partial melting both elements are highly incompatible. Thus, if the surface Cl/K reflects the bulk crustal value, then the mantle, hence primitive silicate Mars, also has a roughly CI ratio. Martian meteorite data indicate that Cl/Br is also approximately chondritic, suggesting that elements that condensed in the nebula between ∼1000 K (K and Cl) to ∼500 K (Br) are uniformly depleted in Mars at about 0.6 × CI chondrite concentrations. Mars clearly does not contain 0.6 × CI levels of H2O, which would be ∼6 wt%, indicating that Mars was constructed by planetesimals rich in volatile elements, but not in water.
An ontology construction algorithm for network robot control services

Recently, network robot technologies have been studied intensively because robots controlled by the network can provide services that stand-alone robots cannot. However, there have been no studies that address the important issue of how to avoid duplicate development of service programs. As a solution to this problem, we proposed a program development platform that is independent of individual robots. We proposed to construct ontology about robot control but did not show specific methods of constructing it. In this paper, we propose a specific method of constructing the proposed platform. In this method, various concepts related to the control of a robot are extracted by focusing on a “has-a relationship” and a “is-a relationship” in robot control. Based on this method, we have defined common signals applicable to locomotive functions of a robot. We have applied these signals to two types of robots, and confirmed that they can support the control signals of individual robots. Furthermore, we have developed a service scenario that runs on the proposed platform, and gained a good prospect that the proposed platform will increase program development efficiency.
Genotyping of Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms in DNA Isolated from Serum Using Sequenom MassARRAY Technology.

Background Large epidemiologic studies have the potential to make valuable contributions to the assessment of gene-environment interactions because they prospectively collected detailed exposure data. Some of these studies, however, have only serum or plasma samples as a low quantity source of DNA. Methods We examined whether DNA isolated from serum can be used to reliably and accurately genotype single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) using Sequenom multiplex SNP genotyping technology. We genotyped 81 SNPs using samples from 158 participants in the NYU Women’s Health Study. Each participant had DNA from serum and at least one paired DNA sample isolated from a high quality source of DNA, i.e. clots and/or cell precipitates, for comparison. Results We observed that 60 of the 81 SNPs (74%) had high call frequencies (≥95%) using DNA from serum, only slightly lower than the 85% of SNPs with high call frequencies in DNA from clots or cell precipitates. Of the 57 SNPs with high call frequencies for serum, clot, and cell precipitate DNA, 54 (95%) had highly concordant (>98%) genotype calls across all three sample types. High purity was not a critical factor to successful genotyping. Conclusions Our results suggest that this multiplex SNP genotyping method can be used reliably on DNA from serum in large-scale epidemiologic studies.
Embolization of Atrial Septal Occluder Device into the Pulmonary Artery: A Rare Complication and Usefulness of Live/Real Time Three-Dimensional Transthoracic Echocardiography

Percutaneous closure of atrial septal defects (ASD) in adults has emerged as an alternative to surgery. We report a rare complication of an atrial septal occluder device embolization into the pulmonary artery which was detected by fluoroscopy and echocardiography. The potential usefulness of live/real time three-dimensional transthoracic echocardiography in the management of patients undergoing percutaneous ASD occlusion is described.
Evaluating machine-assisted annotation in under-resourced settings

Machine assistance is vital to managing the cost of corpus annotation projects. Identifying effective forms of machine assistance through principled evaluation is particularly important and challenging in under-resourced domains and highly heterogeneous corpora, as the quality of machine assistance varies. We perform a fine-grained evaluation of two machine-assistance techniques in the context of an under-resourced corpus annotation project. This evaluation requires a carefully controlled user study crafted to test a number of specific hypotheses. We show that human annotators performing morphological analysis of text in a Semitic language perform their task significantly more accurately and quickly when even mediocre pre-annotations are provided. When pre-annotations are at least 70 % accurate, annotator speed and accuracy show statistically significant relative improvements of 25---35 and 5---7 %, respectively. However, controlled user studies are too costly to be suitable for under-resourced corpus annotation projects. Thus, we also present an alternative analysis methodology that models the data as a combination of latent variables in a Bayesian framework. We show that modeling the effects of interesting confounding factors can generate useful insights. In particular, correction propagation appears to be most effective for our task when implemented with minimal user involvement. More importantly, by explicitly accounting for confounding variables, this approach has the potential to yield fine-grained evaluations using data collected in a natural environment outside of costly controlled user studies.
A prospective clinical trial of lenalidomide with topotecan in women with advanced epithelial ovarian carcinoma

Background Lenalidomide is an anti-angiogenic IMiD® immunomodulatory drug. The objective of this study was to determine the maximum tolerated dose (MTD), overall safety profile, and activity of oral lenalidomide in combination with topotecan in women with advanced epithelial ovarian or primary peritoneal carcinoma.
Reflections from cancer chemotherapy screening studies

Abstract At present cancer chemotherapy cannot boast of curative agents, but there are a number of drugs useful in the treatment of certain forms of malignancy in man. The large majority of these agents have first been detected as carcinostatic in experimental animal tumor studies. Thus, procedures capable of detecting activity do exist. There is a need to find, if possible, methods which are better because of greater reliability, less expense, and greater ease and speed in the attainment of information. A tremendous expansion in the national cancer chemotherapy program in the United States is increasing the testing with accepted methods while investigating the possible value of new procedures.
Two tandem queues with general renewal input I: diffusion approximation and integral representations

We consider two tandem queues with exponential servers. Arrivals to the first queue are governed by a general renewal process. If the arrivals were also exponentially distributed, this would be a simple example of a Jackson network. However, the structure of the model is much more complicated for general arrivals. We analyze the joint steady-state queue length distribution for this network, in the heavy traffic limit, where the arrival rate is only slightly less than the service rates. We formulate and solve the boundary value problem for the diffusion approximation to this model. We obtain simple integral representations for the (asymptotic) steady-state queue length distribution.
Summit outgassing as indicated by radon, mercury and pH mapping, Kilauea volcano, Hawaii

Abstract Surface geochemical mapping of Rn, Hg and pH on the summit of Kilauea volcano, Hawaii, has shown some of the characteristics of outgassing. Rn concentrations measured in shallow ground gas are highest (10 to 155 units, i.e. up to 0.016 nCi/l222Rn) over deep structures associated with the summit caldera, low (1 to 5 units) over the upper rift zones (which are underlain by shallow intrusions) and low to negative (1 to -3 units) over most of the volcanically inactive peripheral areas. High Rn concentrations were measured over peripheral well-developed structures such as the Kaoiki and Koae fault systems (45 and 12 units, respectively). The pattern of Rn values broadly suggests the existence of a summit-wide convection system interrupted locally by specific permeable structures. The low pH (3.5 to 5.6) of soils over the caldera is suggested to be largely due to the sulfurous component of the ground gas. The low concentrations of Hg (5 to 80 ppb) in these soils are postulated as being partly a function of subsurface complexing of Hg with the abundant sulfur. The shallow intrusions below the upper rift zones appear to have outgassed much of their sulfur content, so soils in these areas are only slightly acid (5.6 to 6.2), allowing the accumulation of Hg to concentrations of several thousands of ppb. These conditions change during extrusive (and intrusive) events with the increases in shallow subsurface temperatures and volatiles in ground gas producing an increase in Rn concentration, and a decrease in soil Hg due to volatilization. After such events, Rn concentration decreases, and soil Hg increases significantly.
Stochastic control of queueing systems

Suppose that the state of a queueing system is described by a Markov process { Yt, t ≥ 0}, and the profit from operating it up to a time t is given by the function f(Yt). We operate the system up to a time T, where the random variable T is a stopping time for the process Yt. Optimal stochastic control is achieved by choosing the stopping time T that maximizes Ef(YT) over a given class of stopping times. In this paper a theory of stochastic control is developed for a single server queue with Poisson arrivals and general service times.
Does maternal employment influence poor children’s social development?

Abstract Various initiatives over the past 40 years have aimed to strengthen children’s early learning and social development. One policy theory—manifest in recent welfare reforms—postulates that requiring single mothers to work more outside the home will advance children’s well-being. We first examine whether young children’s social development is related to maternal employment among 405 women who entered welfare-to-work programs in 1998. For girls, age 24–42 months, we found that their mother’s recent employment duration was significantly associated with a lower incidence of aggressive behavior and inattentiveness, measured by two scales from the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL 2/3). Yet these relationships with employment were weaker than more robust associations observed for proximal child-rearing practices, including the frequency of reading with the child, enforcing a regular bedtime, the propensity to spank the child, as well as levels of maternal depression. We then assess whether broader measures of the mother’s economic security help to predict these proximal determinants of development. We observed that food security and indicators of job quality consistently predicted the proximal factors. Structural equation models (SEM) provided additional evidence that these broader indicators of economic security, but not recent employment per se, operated through parenting practices and maternal depression to influence girls’ and boys’ social development. These results are consistent with recent findings from random-assignment experiments, showing that employment gains rarely affect child outcomes unless mothers’ income and broader economic security also improve.
IBM WebSphere commerce suite product advisor

This paper describes the Product Advisor component of the IBM WebSphereTM Commerce Suite. Product Advisor consists of a set of tools to be used by marketing personnel to generate, without programming help, Web shopping applications involving a product catalog. The user interfaces generated by these tools cover an extensible set of shopping paradigms including parametric search, a knowledge-based "virtual salesperson," and side-by-side comparison shopping. The paper also describes the JavaTM infrastructure that supports the Product Advisor tools: servlets, JavaBeansTM and JavaServer PagesTM in the server, and applets in the client. Furthermore, it describes the implementation techniques used for rendering dynamic data: a data container hierarchy, a data type hierarchy, and presentation beans.
MECHANICS OF INJURY TO MUSCLE FIBERS

An advanced shear lag model is developed to analyze the stress-shielding effect in injured muscle fiber by introducing the activation strain. The model considers three muscle fibers connected by the endomysium with the middle muscle fiber injured. Stress shielding describes the function of the lateral transmission of force in protecting the injured muscle fibers from being further injured by transferring force in the injured muscle fiber to its adjacent muscle fibers. Parameter studies demonstrate that the mechanical and geometrical properties of muscle fibers and the endomysium as well as the degree of injury can affect the stress-shielding effect. In conclusion, the model successfully demonstrates and captures, at least in a qualitative manner, the lateral transmission of force between an injured and a normal muscle fiber.
Gas phase collisional excitation of infrared emissions in the vicinity of the space shuttle

The implications of gas buildups around space vehicles are investigated in terms of induced photon emissions. Results indicate that significant effects arise from gas collisions between the relatively energetic ambient atoms and molecules and the atoms and molecules in the shuttle environment. It is suggested that such collision may transfer considerable energy to the gases in the shuttle environment, with the most likely emissions being vibrational and rotational radiation losses in the infrared due to direct collisional excitation.
Abstract ED02-03: The integration of new in vivo and in vitro diagnostic technologies with new therapeutics to accelerate the development and approval of new cancer therapeutics

Abstracts: Frontiers in Cancer Prevention Research 2008 ED02-03 The Nanosystems Biology Cancer Center (NSBCC) was founded three years ago by the NCI to accelerate the translation of systems biology models of cancer into clinical tool for cancer diagnosis and treatment. Over the past three years we have demonstrated that we can go, within a period of 1 to 1.5 years, from a concept on paper to Phase I trials or demonstrations in humans for three major cancer technologies: in vivo PET molecular imaging probes of cancer, siRNA-based cancer therapeutics, and highly multiplexed in vitro diagnostic assays. These advances represent major cost reductions and efficiency increases in three major aspects of cancer clinical care. However, the goal of achieving the same level of cost reductions and efficiency improvements in pushing a new therapeutic from a Phase I trial to an FDA-approved drug remains a daunting challenge. In this talk, I will discuss how the integration of in vivo and in vitro diagnostic tools with drug trials can be done to achieve this goal, and I will give examples of how we are beginning to push in this direction. Citation Information: Cancer Prev Res 2008;1(7 Suppl):ED02-03.
Two and Three-Dimensional Simulations of Moving Pressure Fronts in Gun Tubes

Options were added to the PRONTO2D and PRONTO3D structural dynamics finite element codes to include the effect of a traveling pressure front that follows a projectile while transiting pressurizing axisymmetric and nonstraight gun tubes. Pressure varied in magnitude and location with time and projectile displacement to predict the dynamic structural response of the projectile and gun tube. Two and three-dimensional simulations were performed to study the effect of this pressure front and its influence on projectile gun tube interaction and lateral movement of the projectile in the gun tube caused by variation of the gun centerline during projectile launch and recoil. Discussions of theory, implementation, and results from simulations are presented.
Combustion characteristics of micron-sized aluminum particles in oxygenated environments

Abstract Experimental data describing combustion of micron-sized aluminum particles as a function of their size are limited. Often combustion characteristics are derived indirectly, from experiments with aerosolized powder clouds. In a recently developed experiment, micron-sized particles cross two laser beams. When each particle crosses the first, low-power laser, it produces a scattered light pulse proportional to the particle diameter. The second, powerful CO2 laser beam ignites the particle. The optical emission pulse of the burning particle is correlated with its scattered light pulse, so that the combustion characteristics are directly correlated with the size for each particle. In this work, emission signatures of the ignited Al particles are recorded using an array of filtered photomultipliers to enable optical pyrometry and evaluate the molecular AlO emission. Processing of the generated data for multiple particles is streamlined. Experiments are performed with spherical aluminum powder burning in atmospheric pressure O2/N2 gas mixtures with the oxygen concentrations of 10%, 15%, and 21% (air). In air, the AlO emission peaks prior to the maximum in the overall emission intensity, and the latter occur before the maximum of the particle temperature. The temperatures at which particles burn steadily increase with particle size for particles less than 7.4 μm. For coarser particles, the flame temperature remains constant at about 3040 K. In the gas mixture with 15% O2, the flame temperatures are observed to increase with particle size for the entire range of particle sizes considered, 2–20 μm. At 10% O2, the flame temperatures are significantly lower, close to 2000 K for all particles. The intensity of AlO emission decays at lower oxygen concentrations; however, it remains discernible for all environments. The results of this study are expected to be useful for constructing the Al combustion models relaxing the assumption of the steady state burning.
Climatic variation and simulated patterns in seedling establishment of two dominant grasses at a semi-arid-arid grassland ecotone.

. The objective of this study was to predict the effects of climatic variation at multiple temporal frequencies on seedling establishment by two congeneric C4 perennial grasses (Bouteloua gracilis and B. eriopoda) at the ecotone between shortgrass steppe grassland and Chihuahuan desert grassland in central New Mexico, USA. The approach was to use a daily time-step simulation model to determine the occurrence of a recruitment event in each year based upon the amount and timing of soil water required for establishment. Historical weather data were used to predict effects of seasonal and inter-decadal variation in climate on establishment. A sensitivity analysis was used to predict effects of directional climate change on establishment. Bouteloua gracilis had a broad pattern of simulated establishment from May through September that included periods with high year-to-year variation in precipitation. B. eriopoda establishment events occurred primarily in July when precipitation amounts were most reliable. Climatic conditions from 1949 through 1968 were more favorable for B. eriopoda establishment compared to the cooler, wetter conditions from 1969 through 1988 that favored B. gracilis. Establishment of B. eriopoda was lowest in El Nino years whereas B. gracilis establishment was highest in La Nina years. Establishment of B. gracilis was most sensitive to temperature when precipitation was higher than current amounts. The greatest response to temperature by B. eriopoda for all precipitation amounts occurred at cooler temperatures than found currently. These results indicate that climatic variation at multiple frequencies has differential effects on seedling establishment for these two perennial grasses, and may account at least in part for patterns in dominance at this biome transition zone.
Functional Asymmetries of Proteasome Translocase Pore

Degradation by proteasomes involves coupled translocation and unfolding of its protein substrates. Six distinct but paralogous proteasome ATPase proteins, Rpt1 to -6, form a heterohexameric ring that acts on substrates. An axially positioned loop (Ar-Φ loop) moves in concert with ATP hydrolysis, engages substrate, and propels it into a proteolytic chamber. The aromatic (Ar) residue of the Ar-Φ loop in all six Rpts of S. cerevisiae is tyrosine; this amino acid is thought to have important functional contacts with substrate. Six yeast strains were constructed and characterized in which Tyr was individually mutated to Ala. The mutant cells were viable and had distinct phenotypes. rpt3, rpt4, and rpt5 Tyr/Ala mutants, which cluster on one side of the ATPase hexamer, were substantially impaired in their capacity to degrade substrates. In contrast, rpt1, rpt2, and rpt6 mutants equaled or exceeded wild type in degradation activity. However, rpt1 and rpt6 mutants had defects that limited cell growth or viability under conditions that stressed the ubiquitin proteasome system. In contrast, the rpt3 mutant grew faster than wild type and to a smaller size, a defect that has previously been associated with misregulation of G1 cyclins. This rpt3 phenotype probably results from altered degradation of cell cycle regulatory proteins. Finally, mutation of five of the Rpt subunits increased proteasome ATPase activity, implying bidirectional coupling between the Ar-Φ loop and the ATP hydrolysis site. The present observations assign specific functions to individual Rpt proteins and provide insights into the diverse roles of the axial loops of individual proteasome ATPases.
Treatment of lower eyelid fat pads using phosphatidylcholine: clinical trial and review.

BACKGROUNDInjectable phosphatidylcholine, a lecithin-derived phospholipid, has been previously demonstrated to improve the appearance of infraorbital fat pad herniation. Current use internationally has led to a significant interest in this novel substance.OBJECTIVETo evaluate the efficacy and safety
Transport of Sewage Sludge in a Mixed Water Column

Abstract Sewage sludge from four publicly-owned treatment works was sampled and characterized in terms of parameters affecting transport at the 106-mile deep ocean disposal site as part of the US Environmental Protection Agency's site monitoring programme. Samples from treatment plants in Passaic Valley, Rahway, and Elizabeth, New Jersey and New York City were characterized in terms of dynamic size distribution, suspended solids and density. the transport characteristics of sludge particles were measured using a 2 metre computer-interfaced laboratory settling column. Experiments were conducted at constant salinity (35 ppt) while varying hydrodynamic mixing, sludge type and concentration using a modified factorial experimental design. Hydrodynamic power dissipation was varied so that the vertical dispersion and rms fluid shear rate ranged between 0-6 cm2S−1 and 0-30s−1 respectively. Results indicate that at least 80% of suspended sludge particles will eventually settle under mixed conditions. the average s...
SSL design with LED binning tolerances

Illumination systems suffer from tolerances like all optical systems, including gross, process, roughness, and system errors. A common system error in solid-state lighting (SSL) luminaires is source variation due to variation within selected LED bins. Tolerances of LED bins include peak or dominant wavelength and flux output. These bin variations lead to chromatic shifts in the resulting illumination distribution when discrete spectral emitters are mixed to provide a desired color. Software tools are developed to provide ease in inspection of color mixing of discrete spectral LEDs taking into account the selected bins for each LED. This tool is a graphical user interface (GUI) of standard LED products from a series of LED manufacturers. Using this tool the color mixing of red, green, and blue LEDs are presented, showing that there is a color shifts in the resulting distribution due to binning variation. Optics that have the potential to alleviate the color shifts due to LED bin tolerances are presented.
Redox mediation and photomechanical oscillations involving photosensitive cyclometalated Ru(II) complexes, glucose oxidase, and peroxidase.

Intact photosensitive cyclometalated RuII derivatives of 2-phenylpyridine or N,N-dimethylbenzylamine cis-[Ru(C∼N)(LL)X2]PF6 [C∼N = o-C6H4-py or o-C6H4CH2NMe2; LL = 1,10-phenanththroline (phen), 2,2‘-bipyridine (bpy), or 4,4‘-Me2-2,2‘-bipyridine (Me2bpy); X = MeCN or pyridine (py)] are efficient mediators of glucose oxidase (GO) from Aspergillus niger and horseradish peroxidase (HRP). Their redox potentials in an aqueous buffer are in the range 0.15−0.35 V versus SCE, and the rate constants for the oxidation GO(red) (where red indicates reduced) by the electrochemically generated RuIII species equal (1.7−2.5) × 106 M-1 s-1 at pH 7 and 25 °C. The redox potentials of all complexes decrease cathodically by 0.4−0.6 V upon irradiation by visible light because of the photoinduced solvolysis of acetonitrile or py ligands. These in situ generated species display an even better mediating performance with HRP, although their behavior toward GO is different. The loading of a ruthenium unit into the protein interior b...
Is inadequate human immunodeficiency virus care associated with increased ED and hospital utilization? A prospective study in human immunodeficiency virus-positive ED patients.

Abstract Background There is a lack of data on the effect(s) of suboptimal human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) care on subsequent health care utilization among emergency department (ED) patients with HIV. Findings on their ED and inpatient care utilization patterns will provide information on service provision for those who have suboptimal access to HIV-related care. Methods A pilot prospective study was conducted on HIV-positive patients in an ED. At enrollment, participants were interviewed regarding health care utilization. Participants were followed up for 1 year, during which time data on ED visits and hospitalizations were obtained from their patient records. Inadequate HIV care (IHC) was defined according to Infectious Diseases Society of America recommendations as less than 3 scheduled clinic visits for HIV care in the year before enrollment. Cox regression models were used to evaluate whether IHC was associated with increased hazard of health care utilization. Results Of 107 subjects, 36% were found to have IHC. Inadequate HIV care did not predict more frequent ED visits but was significantly associated with fewer hospitalizations (adjusted incidence rate ratio, 0.61 [95% CI: 0.43-0.86]). Inadequate HIV care did not significantly increase the hazard for earlier ED visit or hospitalization. However, further stratification analysis found that IHC increased the hazard of hospitalization for subjects without comorbid diseases (adjusted hazard ratio, 2.50 [95% CI: 1.10-5.68]). Conclusions In our setting, IHC does not appear to be associated with earlier or more frequent ED visits but may lead to earlier hospitalization, particularly among those without other chronic diseases.
The Role Of The User In The Map Communication Process: Designing Maps For Children

Research conducted by the author on the topic of children as map users points up inadequacies in existing research in the area, from both theoretical and empirical points of view. An approach to map design for children is proposed and it consists (in part) of creating maps that match visual arrays of graphic elements to intellectual arrays of intended spatial information and related specific map use tasks. A la suite de ses recherches sur l'utilisation des cartes par les enfants, l'auteur signale certaines carences de la recherche actuelle dans ce domaine, tant du point de vue empirique que theorique. Il propose une approche a l'intention des enfants, consistant en partie a creer des cartes qui etabliraient un rapport entre la presentation visuelle des elements graphiques et la conceptualisation des donnees0020spatiales et des utilisations des cartes.
Familial osteosclerosis with abnormalities of the nervous system and meninges

A mother and daughter with osteosclerotic dysplasia are described. The daughter had generalized osteosclerosis, flattening of the angles of the mandibles, high-arched palate, mandibular and facial bone hypoplasia, a large sella turcica, and spacious foramen magnum, platybasia, basilar impression, widened spinal canal with enlarged intervertebral foramina, and scalloping of the posterior surfaces of the vertebral bodies. Radiographic contrast studies and operative intervention revealed multiple thoracic and lumbar meningoceles and an “empty” sella, as well as evidence of maldevelopment of the spinal cord, cerebellum, and cerebral cortex. Many of these skeletal features were noted to a lesser degree in the asymptomatic mother.
Effects of quetiapine treatment on cocaine self-administration and behavioral indices of sleep in adult rhesus monkeys

Clinical literature suggests a link between substance abuse and sleep disturbances. Quetiapine, an atypical antipsychotic, has shown efficacy in treating sleep disturbances, with clinical studies showing promise for quetiapine as a treatment for cocaine abuse. The goal of this study was to examine the effects of quetiapine on cocaine self-administration and behavioral indices of sleep in monkeys. Seven adult male rhesus monkeys, fitted with Actical® activity monitors, were trained to respond under a choice paradigm of food (1.0-g pellets) and cocaine (0.003–0.3 mg/kg per injection) presentation. First, monkeys received acute pretreatment (45 min) with quetiapine (25–75 mg, p.o.) prior to choice sessions; three cocaine doses were studied in combination with quetiapine. Next, the effect of chronic (14–16 days) quetiapine treatment (25–250 mg, p.o., BID) was examined in combination with the lowest preferred cocaine dose (≥80 % cocaine choice). Behavioral indices of sleep, based on activity measures obtained during lights-out, were recorded throughout the study. Acute quetiapine decreased cocaine choice in four of the seven monkeys. Chronic quetiapine treatment resulted in initial decreases in cocaine choice, but tolerance developed to these effects. Acute doses of quetiapine did not improve sleep efficiency the following night nor did chronic quetiapine. The first night after discontinuing quetiapine treatment resulted in significant decreases in sleep efficiency and increases in nighttime activity. These findings do not offer support for the use of quetiapine as a monotherapy for treatment of cocaine abuse nor as an adjunct therapy to treat sleep disturbances associated with stimulant abuse.
Electron probe and electron energy loss analysis in biology

Methods, applications and limitations of quantitative electron probe analysis, X-ray mapping, electron energy loss analysis and energy filtered imaging are described, with emphasis on the analysis of thin (less than 200nm) cryosections. Energy dispersion electron probe analysis can measure reliably 5 to 10mM/Kg of biologically prevalent elements in 50nm diameter areas of 100 to 150 nm thick cryo sections during 100-300 sec counts. The minimal detectable mass (MDM) with a conventional thermionic electron source is approximately 10(-19)g Fe (100 sec count) and can be reduced to 10(-20)g through the use of a field emission gun (FEG). A spatial resolution of 8.7nm is demonstrated in two-dimensional Fourier transforms of Mo X-ray maps of stained catalase crystals. Significant biological results of quantitative electron probe analysis include the measurement of total Ca released from the Mg and K taken up by the sarcoplasmic reticulum during muscle contraction, and the demonstration that mitochondria do not contribute to the physiological regulation of cytoplasmic free Ca levels in cardiac, vascular smooth and striated muscle. Electron energy loss analysis (EELS) promises a significant improvement in sensitivity for the measurement of Ca; based on statistical errors of the measurement, 250 microM/Kg Ca should be measureable with EELS in 250 sec. through the Ca L-edge loss. The use of a doubly corrected magnetic sector spectrometer as a transmission electron microscope imaging filter outside the microscope vacuum is illustrated, and the resolution of the iron core (7.5nm) and surrounding organic shell of single ferritin molecules is demonstrated in, respectively, iron M and carbon K loss images.
Blogging about diversity: the academy sounds off in The Chronicle of Higher Education

Purpose – The purpose of this research is to investigate the increasing use of online communication for sharing knowledge by examining what bloggers on an online academic newspaper have to say about diversity.Design/methodology/approach – Ten diversity blogs from a popular online academic newspaper, The Chronicle of Higher Education, were analyzed for content to understand the extent to which bloggers responded to blogs related to diversity.Findings – This study offers a glimpse about blogging posts as it relates to diversity and how individuals respond to the content of these diversity blogs. Some blogs took on a confrontational tone while others sought to engage and educate.Originality/value – While research on technology is ongoing, the degree to which scholars discuss diversity with peers in an online format is relatively limited.
Reduction of defects by high temperature annealing (150°C–240°C) in hydrogenated amorphous silicon films deposited at room temperature

Abstract We have deposited undoped a-Si:H films with hydrogen content from 0% to 19% with the substrate temperature near room temperature (Ts=40°C). We find an “intrinsic” defect density of 1018cm−3 in the as-deposited films with [H]=12%. Annealing the films at temperatures >150°C reduces the defect density and increased the photoresponse to levels the same as those in films deposited at Ts > 200°C.
Analysis of distributed consensus time synchronization with Gaussian delay over wireless sensor networks

This paper presents theoretical results on the convergence of the distributed consensus timing synchronization (DCTS) algorithm for wireless sensor networks assuming general Gaussian delay between nodes. The asymptotic expectation and mean square of the global synchronization error are computed. The results lead to the definition of a time delay balanced network in which average timing consensus between nodes can be achieved despite random delays. Several structured network architectures are studied as examples, and their associated simulation results are used to validate analytical findings.
On the interpretation of studies measuring uptake and esterification of [1-14C]palmitic acid by rat adipose tissue in vitro

Abstract 1. 1.The effects of glucose and a number of hormones on the incorporation of [1- 14 C]palmitic acid from the medium into glycerides in rat epididymal fat pads have been reported. The data from such studies should not, however, be used to draw conclusions about tha rate of triglyceride synthesis in this tissue. 2. 2. It has been demonstrated that the free fatty acids in different cell fractions and in different parts of a single fat pad have different specific radioactivities after incubation of the intact fat pad in the presence of [1- 14 C]palmitate, suggesting that there are kinetically distinguishable pools of free fatty acids within the tissue. 3. 3. Evidence is presented to support the view that free fatty acids from the medium can, as such, enter adipose tissue cells, and it suggested that there is a pool of free fatty acids, perphaps very small, within the tissue which serves as the precursor pool for glyceride synthesis.
Titan's stratospheric temperatures: A case for dynamical inertia?

Voyager IRIS spectral radiances in the nu4-band of CH4 for the Titan atmosphere exhibit a hemispheric asymmetry. While asymmetry in the meridional distribution of opacity about the equator cannot be discounted, attention is given to the need for angular momentum transport concurrent with seasonally varying temperatures in the Titan stratosphere, which would maintain the cyclostrophic thermal wind relation between zonal winds and temperatures. The adiabatic heating and cooling associated with these motions can produce the observed temperature asymmetry.
Parental Responses to School-aged Children’s Sibling Conflict

The goals of this study were: (1) to describe and compare parental responses to school-aged siblings’ conflicts; (2) to explore the sibling relationship structural correlates of the parental responses; and (3) to assess the links between type of parental response and sibling relationship quality and children’s psychosocial and physical well being. One parent from eighty-two families (mothers = 68; fathers = 13; 1 missing) of firstborn (Mage = 9.84 years old) and secondborn (Mage = 7.16 years old) children completed an anonymous survey. Parents employed a child-centered strategy most often and sanctioned sibling aggression least often in response to siblings’ conflicts. Closer age spacing among siblings was related to parents’ sanction of physical aggression. Parental response type was associated with sibling relationship quality and children’s psychosocial and physical well being. The differential associations between parental response type, sibling experiences and children’s mental and physical well being are discussed.
Association of Hypercoagulable States and Increased Platelet Adhesion and Aggregation with Bacterial Colonization of Intravenous Catheters

Bacterial adherence to intravenous catheters may be mediated, in part, by adherence to coagulation proteins and platelets. The possibility that catheter infection is associated with gene polymorphisms that cause hypercoagulability or increased platelet stickiness was examined. Among patients with infected catheters, there was no increase in the frequency of polymorphisms that increase coagulability, including factor V Leiden R506G, factor II (prothrombin) G20210A, and methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase C677T, compared with control subjects. The incidence of polymorphisms of the platelet beta(3) integrin among patients with infected catheters was also similar to that among control subjects. The C/D heterozygote of the variable number tandem repeat polymorphism and the C/T heterozygote of the KO polymorphism of glycoprotein Ibalpha were more frequent among patients with infected catheters than they were among control subjects. In a small proportion of patients, a genetic predisposition to platelet stickiness may be associated with infection of intravenous catheters, but in the majority, a recognized genetic tendency to hypercoagulability or platelet stickiness does not underlie infection.
Mycorrhizal Colonization in Dryland Vineyards of the Willamette Valley, Oregon

Abstract Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) enhance the growth of numerous plants, including grapevines, by increasing the absorptive surface area between roots and soil. A survey of commercial vineyards in Oregon was conducted to assess the levels of root colonization by AMF at two times during the growing season. Grapevines sampled, ranged in age from 2 to 29 years old and were growing in 10 different soil types from 3 soil orders. AMF colonization of fine (feeder) roots of vines was generally high, averaging 73% and 69% of root length colonized at bloom and veraison, respectively. Vine age, soil type, cultivar, trellis type and vine row aspect did not influence colonization of roots by AMF. In-row cultivation reduced AMF colonization at bloom, and foliar application of soluble phosphorus fertilizers reduced arbuscules (the site of nutrient transfer in mycorrhizas) in roots at veraison. The proportion of roots colonized by AMF at bloom was negatively correlated to leaf N concentrations and positively co...
CHANGES IN SOIL AGGREGATION ASSOCIATED WITH TALLGRASS PRAIRIE RESTORATION

To investigate the dynamics of soil aggregation associated with the restoration of cultivated soil to tallgrass prairie, changes in soil aggregation and above ground production were compared in a corn field, restored prairie plantings of various ages (second, fifth, eighth, and eleventh growing season), and an uncultivated prairie remnant. The restored prairie was also compared with a long-term (fourteenth growing season) ungrazed pasture dominated by Eurasian grasses. All plots were located on similar soils. The regression model, Y = 95.8 - 56.2/X (R{sup 2}= 0.93), best described the relatively rapid recovery of water-stable soil aggregates > 0.2 mm diameter with time (in years) since cultivation. Similar models were also found to describe changes in the percentages of aggregates > 1 and > 2 mm diameter. Aggregates >0.2 and >2 mm diameter were more closely associated with prairie graminoids than with other vegetation categories. However, time without disturbance may be a more important factor in soil aggregate formation than vegetation type, but it was but it was difficult to separate the effects of these two factors in this study. The percentage of aggregates >0.2 mm diameter was found to be significantly higher (P = 0.0553) in the oldest restored prairie thanmore » in ungrazed pasture although the former had been cultivated more recently. This suggests that C{sub 4} prairie graminoids may confer some advantage over introduced C{sub 3} Eurasian grasses for the development for water-stable aggregates in soils of the Prairie Peninsula.« less