cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
P76 Prospective investigation of pre-diagnostic urinary bisphenol a and phthalates in relation to endometrial cancer risk in the multiethnic cohort (MEC) study

Introduction/Background In the Multiethnic Cohort (MEC) Study based in Hawaii and Los Angeles, the age-adjusted incidence of endometrial cancer (per 100,000, ages 60–90) is highest in Native Hawaiians (112.0) vs. 68.9 in white women. Since endometrial cancer develops under conditions of high circulating estrogen levels, we hypothesized that exposure to estrogenically active BPA and phthalates will increase endometrial cancer risk and these associations may be most relevant for Native Hawaiian women who have high endometrial cancer incidence rates. Methodology We initiated a nested case-control study to measure urinary BPA and phthalates from the MEC. We identified 146 postmenopausal endometrial cancer cases and controls matched 1:1 on race/ethnicity, area, birth year, fasting hours, urine type, date/time of collection and postmenopausal hormone use. Conditional logistic regression will be used to calculate odds ratios and 95% confidence intervals for the association between BPA or phthalate concentrations with endometrial cancer risk accounting for the matching criteria, creatinine concentration and endometrial cancer risk factors. Results There were differences in endometrial cancer risk factors between the cases and controls; for example, cases were more likely to never use oral contraceptives (46% of cases vs. 39% of controls) and cases had a higher body mass index (32% of cases vs. 19% of controls with BMI ≥30 kg/m2). There were no differences in the frequency of cases and controls who were parous or by education level. We are currently analyzing the associations with urinary BPA and phthalate metabolite concentrations and will present our findings at the meeting. Conclusion To our knowledge this is the first study to examine the role of BPA and phthalates in relation to endometrial cancer risk using prospective samples and to explore whether risk associations differ across racial/ethnic groups. This work will highlight new avenues for further research that aim to correct observed endometrial cancer disparities. Disclosure Nothing to disclose.
Defensive Charging: Mitigating Power Side-Channel Attacks on Charging Smartphones

Mobile devices are increasingly relied upon in user's daily lives. This dependence supports a growing network of mobile device charging hubs in public spaces such as airports. Unfortunately, the public nature of these hubs make them vulnerable to tampering. By embedding illicit power meters in the charging stations an attacker can launch power side-channel attacks aimed at inferring user activity on smartphones (e.g., web browsing or typing patterns). In this paper, we present three power side-channel attacks that can be launched by an adversary during the phone charging process. Such attacks use machine learning to identify unique patterns hidden in the measured current draw and infer information about a user's activity. To defend against these attacks, we design and rigorously evaluate two defense mechanisms, a hardware-based and software-based solution. The defenses randomly perturb the current drawn during charging thereby masking the unique patterns of the user's activities. Our experiments show that the two defenses force each one of the attacks to perform no better than random guessing. In practice, the user would only need to choose one of the defensive mechanisms to protect themselves against intrusions involving power draw analysis.
Prehospital Capture of Variables Commonly Used in ED Sepsis Screening Tools

Background: Prehospital care represents an early opportunity to identify children with sepsis, yet little is known about the prehospital capture rates of variables commonly used in emergency department (ED) screening tools. The objectives were to characterize children with presumed septic shock who presented via emergency medicine services (EMS) and determine capture rates of sepsis screening variables in the prehospital setting. Methods: This a retrospective cohort study of children, ages 0-21 years, who were treated for presumed septic shock in the EDs of two large Ohioan children’s hospital who from …
Estimation of wildlife damage from federal crop insurance data.

Background Wildlife damage to crops is a persistent and costly problem for many farmers in the USA. Most existing estimates of crop damage have relied on direct assessment methods such as field studies conducted by trained biologists or surveys distributed to farmers. In this paper, we describe a new method of estimating wildlife damage that exploits federal crop insurance data. We focused our study on four crops: corn, soybean, wheat, and cotton, chosen because of their economic importance and their vulnerability to wildlife damage. Results We determined crop-raiding hot spots across the USA over the 2015-2019 period and identified the eastern and southern regions of the USA as being the most susceptible to wildlife damage. We estimated lower bounds for dollar and percent losses attributable to wildlife to these four crops. The combined loss across four crops was estimated at $592.6 million. The highest total estimated losses to wildlife were incurred by soybeans ($323.9 million) and corn ($194.0 million) and the highest percentage losses were estimated for soybeans (0.87%) and cotton (0.72%). Conclusion We believe the proposed method is a reliable way to evaluate geographic and temporal heterogeneity in damages for the coming years. Accurate information on damages benefits various management agencies by allowing them to allocate management resources to crops and regions where the problem is relatively severe. A better understanding of damage heterogeneity can also help guide research and development of new management techniques.
Accompaniment to healthcare visits: the impact of sensory impairment.

Millions of older adults in the United States experience hearing, vision, and dual sensory impairment (concurring hearing and vision impairment) yet little research exists on their needs in interactions with the healthcare system. This piece aims to determine the use of accompaniment in healthcare interactions by persons with sensory impairment. These cross-sectional analyses included data from the 2015 Medicare Current Beneficiaries Survey and survey weighting provided by Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. Adjusted odds of reporting accompaniment to healthcare visits and given reasons for accompaniment among United States Medicare beneficiaries with self-reported sensory impairment (hearing, vision, and dual sensory impairment) were examined. After excluding observations with missing data, 10,748 Medicare beneficiaries remained representing a 46 million total weighted nationally representative sample, of which 88.9% reported no sensory impairment, 5.52% reported hearing impairment, 3.56% reported vision impairment, and 0.93% reported dual sensory impairment. Those with vision impairment and dual sensory impairment had 2.139 (95% confidence interval [CI] =1.605–2.850) and 2.703 (CI = 1.549–4.718) times the odds of reporting accompaniment to healthcare visits relative to those without sensory impairment. A secondary analysis suggests communication needs as the primary reason for accompaniment among persons with hearing loss, while those with vision impairment were more likely to indicate transportation needs. Healthcare accompaniment is common for persons with sensory loss and healthcare systems should consider accommodations for and leveraging accompaniment to improve healthcare for persons with sensory impairments. In light of the current COVID-19 pandemic, as hospitals limit visitors to reduce the spread of infection, arrangements should be made to ensure that the communication and transportation needs of those with sensory impairment are not neglected.
Performance of 802.11P in VANET at 5G Frequencies for Different Channel Models

A combination of 5G and VANET will result in an intelligent transportation system. Relaying of 5G data from the cellular network to highly underutilized VANET could reduce the load on the mobile network. Dedicated short-range communication is based on 802.11p which is already widely available. Keeping in mind the future, VANET should support the 5G environment to be widely utilized. We have analyzed the 802.11P protocol at mmWave frequency range which is expected to provide better connectivity in dense urban regions with Rayleigh and Lee Microcell channel models. We have simulated the throughput of the Rayleigh and Lee Microcell using EstiNet simulator and compared their performance in urban dense regions that have better conditions like slow-moving and densely packed vehicle traffic. The urban environment gives us the added benefit of better performance in V2X, V2V network as compared to fast-moving, sparsely populated highway traffic. If VANET made capable of relaying 5G, each car could act as a mobile cell tower in a downtown area.
Activation of parasperm and eusperm upon ejaculation in Lepidoptera.

Abstract Almost all Lepidoptera produce two kinds of spermatozoa, a typical nucleated spermatozoon and an anucleate one. Inactive in the male prior to ejaculation, both of these spermatozoa become motile upon ejaculation and move to the female's sperm storage organ. This study shows that in several phylogenetically and morphologically diverse species of Lepidoptera, the anucleate spermatozoa, or parasperm (also known as apyrene spermatozoa), and the nucleated spermatozoa, or eusperm (also known as eupyrene spermatozoa), are activated by a protein of approximately 37.7 kDa added by a secretion from the male. Although proteases have been shown to activate these parasperm, inhibitors of proteases did not prevent activation of the tobacco hornworm moth, Manduca sexta, parasperm, even at well over normal working concentrations of the inhibitors. Parasperm could also be activated by an ionophore, indicating that a trans-membrane ionic event is involved. In contrast to parasperm, eusperm are first ejaculated as bundles of 256 spermatozoa. This study identified a male protein of similar molecular weight that dissociates the eusperm from the bundles, but that is sensitive to proteases. Based on these characteristics, the activators of both types of spermatozoa appear to be different from the initiatorin imputed to be the activator of commercial silkmoth, Bombyx mori, spermatozoa. The role of these proteins in these unique modes of lepidopterous sperm activation may have been adapted from other roles in other kinds of insects, and indicates especially an important function of parasperm in the reproductive physiology and/or behavior of female lepidopterans.
The Nonlinear Influence of Harmonious Information Technology Affordance on Organizational Innovation

In this study, we investigate the nature of the influence of organizational information technology (IT) on innovation. To examine this relationship, we leverage a fundamental construct: harmonious IT affordance (HITA). HITA is defined as the degree of coalignment between three salient organizational IT affordances, each of which allows an organization to carry out its most fundamental functions using IT — collaboration, maintenance of organizational memory, and management of organizational processes. We theorize that HITA has a quadratic (U-shaped) effect on innovation. Our theory proposes that when IT affordances increasingly co-align (reflected by increasing HITA), the organization enters a synergistic, virtuous phase that encourages innovation. Counterintuitively, the increasing misalignment of IT affordances can also result in organizational innovation via creative dissonance, which enables organizations to look for opportunities in the presence of misalignment and leverage it to create a synergistic virtuous cycle. We conducted two empirical studies — one with high-level IT executives knowledgeable about innovation and one with sales and business development executives (who market innovations) knowledgeable about IT — that corroborate our theory. Crucially, if the IT affordances are unrelated (low coalignment, where HITA is close to zero), then innovation does not take place. We thus surmise that the relation between HITA and innovation is quadratic.
A Fully-Pipelined Parallel Architecture for Kalman Tracking Filter

The Kalman filter is a set of mathematical equations that provides an efficient computational (recursive) mean to estimate the state of a process, in a way that minimizes the mean of the squared error. This filter is very powerful in several aspects: it provides estimations of past, present, and future states, and it can do so when the precise nature of the modeled system is unknown, and even with the presence of measurement and process noise. Moreover, Kalman filter for linear estimate is the most complex and precise algorithm used for target tracking. However, using Kalman filter algorithms in software for multi-target tracking (MTT) radar system would result in a very long computational time which may not be suitable for today's warfare constraints, or real-time processing. Consequently, a hardware alternative has to be developed which may result in big area overhead which is not suitable for today's area constraints such as sensor nodes in a sensor network. In this paper, we break the arrays into their scalar forms, and develop fully-pipelined hardware architecture for the radar tracking Kalman filter, with time division multiplex blocks to decrease the silicon area.. The proposed architecture contains 6 multipliers, 2 dividers, 9 adders, 5 subtracters, one control unit, and some registers and multiplexers for pipeline and control. Simulation results show that the loss in accuracy between the exact track and the estimated is found to be only 4.9%.
Accelerated stress testing of terrestrial solar cells

A program to investigate the reliability characteristics of unencapsulated low-cost terrestrial solar cells using accelerated stress testing is described. Reliability (or parametric degradation) factors appropriate to the cell technologies and use conditions were studied and a series of accelerated stress tests was synthesized. An electrical measurement procedure and a data analysis and management system was derived, and stress test fixturing and material flow procedures were set up after consideration was given to the number of cells to be stress tested and measured and the nature of the information to be obtained from the process. Selected results and conclusions are presented.
Stratifying Surgical Therapy

In this chapter we discuss the surgical therapy of renal stones. There are four main modalities of surgical management for renal stones: extracorporeal shockwave lithotripsy (SWL), rigid/flexible retrograde ureteroscopy, percutaneous nephrolithotomy (PCNL), and laparoscopic/open surgery. These four modalities have significant advantages and disadvantages and are chosen based on a number of factors pertaining to the individual stone or stones, including stone size, location, substance, as well as patient factors such as body habitus, medical comorbidities, and anatomy. While the success rates vary with each modality, they all show relatively high stone clearance rates along with low-associated morbidity and mortality when appropriately selected and utilized. Advancing technology is constantly improving and being applied to the treatment of renal stones, and as a consequence stone-free rates, morbidity, and mortality rates will continue to improve.
Risk Factors during Maintenance Therapy and Prognosis

In this chapter we will be dealing first with life-threatening risk factors that occur during maintenance therapy, and second with long-term prognosis. One area I will not be dealing with is risk and prognosis associated with acute hepatic failure, primarily an issue at initial presentation, which were discussed in Chapter 6.
Evolved intrinsic reward functions for reinforcement learning

Reward functions in reinforcement learning have largely been assumed given as part of the problem being solved by the agent. However, the psychological notion of intrinsic motivation has recently inspired inquiry into whether there exist alternate reward functions that enable an agent to learn a task more easily than the natural task-based reward function allows. This paper presents an efficient genetic programming algorithm to search for alternate reward functions that improve agent learning performance.
The Impact of BSE on U.S. Exports of Beef and Pork

An augmented vector-autoregressive (VAR) model relating pre- and post-BSE (bovine spongiform encephalopathy) exports of U.S. beef meat, beef offal, pork meat, and pork offal was used to test for structural changes following an outbreak of BSE in the United States in December 2003. The VAR, exogenous variables—intercepts, seasonal dummies, and export unit value first lags—and covariance estimates all had statistically significant changes for each of the four types of exports, indicating that BSE caused structural changes in U.S. exports of the four meats. To demonstrate the effects of these coefficient-estimate shifts, post-BSE exports were forecast using both sets of coefficients, the pre- and post-BSE periods. These forecasts were in concordance with actual U.S. export data, showing that the structural changes lead to a decrease in U.S. beef meat and offal exports and a strong increase in U.S. pork meat and offal exports in the post-BSE years. [Econ Lit Classification: F140, F170, and Q170.].
Polysynaptic regulation of glutamate receptors and mitochondrial enzyme activities in the basal ganglia of rats with unilateral dopamine depletion

After nigrostriatal dopaminergic denervation, the output nuclei of the basal ganglia, the medial globus pallidus and substantia nigra pars reticulata (Snr), become overactive, in part, because of increased activity of excitatory afferents from the subthalamic nucleus (STN). Because STN uses glutamate as a transmitter, we examined whether there are regulatory changes in glutamate receptor binding in the basal ganglia. Rats received unilateral 6-hydroxydopamine lesions of the medial forebrain bundle and substantia nigra pars compacta that were confirmed by apomorphine-induced rotation and 3H-GBR-12935 binding. As an indirect index of relative synaptic activity, succinate dehydrogenase and cytochrome oxidase activities were assayed histochemically in sections adjacent to those used for receptor binding. There were increases in enzymatic activity in entopeduncular nucleus (EP; the rodent homolog of medial globus pallidus), SNr, and globus pallidus (GP, the rodent homolog of lateral globus pallidus) in the lesioned hemisphere, suggesting increased synaptic activity, perhaps due to increased firing of the STN. Ipsilateral to the lesion, and postsynaptic to the STN, there were profound decreases in the binding of 3H-AMPA (alpha-amino-3-hydroxy-5-methylisoxazole propionic acid) in EP and SNr (45% and 30%, respectively); there were no alterations in the striatum, globus pallidus, or STN, and binding throughout the unlesioned hemisphere was equivalent to that in unlesioned control animals. In contrast, 3H-MK-801 binding to the NMDA receptor ion channel was not reduced in SNr, and was too low to be measured reliably in EP and STN. 3H-MK-801 binding was reduced by 6% in striatum and 39% in globus pallidus.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
Phagocytosis of Actinomyces viscosus by murine macrophages. Susceptible and resistant strains.

The phagocytosis of various strains of Actinomyces viscosus was studied using murine peritoneal macrophages and in vitro assay procedures. A. viscosus M100 was readily phagocytized when compared to controls using Staphylococcus epidermidis. The phagocytic uptake was enhanced by the addition of opsonic antibody and complement. The virulent (V) and avirulent (AV) strains of A. viscosus T14 were, however, refractory to phagocytosis. Indeed, the presence of specific antibody and complement had no enhancing effect on phagocytosis of these strains. Heat killed T14-V and T14-AV exhibited phagocytic indices similar to those of non-opsonized S. epidermidis. The inhibitory effect of A. viscosus T14 is dependent upon bacterial viability and does not alter the viability of the cultured macrophages. Since both T14-V and T14-AV were capable of blocking phagocytosis, the response does not appear dependent on the ascribed virulence factors.
CE: The Classifier-Estimator Framework for Data Mining

The aim of this research is to establish a coherent framework for data mining Observing that data mining depends on two partitions, the classifier and the estimator, this paper defines the classifier/estimator (CE) framework. The classifier indicates the target of the data mining investigation. The classifier may be difficult to express from the data instance or may involve an “oracle” beyond the extant data. The estimator is typically simply expressible using the data instance. The degree to which the estimator refines the classifier partition can be used to measure how well the data instance matches the concept being investigated.
Intrathecal Baclofen Dosing Regimens: A Retrospective Chart Review

Objectives To examine dosing patterns in patients receiving baclofen via intrathecal baclofen pumps to assess for common patterns by diagnosis, ambulation ability, and affected limbs distribution. Materials and Methods This trial study included 25 patients with baclofen pumps selected from the 356 patients enrolled in our center's baclofen pump program. Selection was done by splitting all patients into diagnostic categories of stroke, multiple sclerosis, traumatic/anoxic brain injury, cerebral palsy, and spinal cord injury, and then, five patients were randomly selected from each diagnosis.A systematic chart review was then conducted for each patient from Jan 1, 2008, through September 16, 2013, to look at factors including mean daily dose at end of study, and among those implanted during the study mean initial stable dose and time to initial stable dose. Results Analysis of mean daily dose across diagnoses found significant differences, with brain injury, cerebral palsy, and spinal cord injury patients having higher doses while multiple sclerosis and stroke patients required lower doses. Nonambulatory patients strongly trended to have higher daily doses than ambulatory patients. Similar trends of mean initial stable dose being higher in a similar pattern as that of end mean daily dose were seen according to diagnoses and ambulatory status, although statistical significance could not be achieved with the small sample size. Conclusion Significant differences in dosing were found between diagnoses and trended to differ by ambulatory status at the end of the study, and similar trends could be observed in achieving initial stable dose.
The fatness-specific bioelectrical impedance analysis equations of Segal et al: are they generalizable and practical?

The fatness-specific bioelectrical impedance analysis (BIA) equations of Segal et al (Am J Clin Nutr 1988;47: 7-14; Segal equations) have been shown to be generalizable across sex, ethnicity, age, and degrees of adiposity. However, these fatness-specific equations require an a priori determination of percentage body fat (%BF) by using a skinfold equation or densitometry to categorize subjects into obese or nonobese groups. These procedures negate the use of BIA as a fast and simple method. It was hypothesized that the average of the Segal nonobese and obese fatness-specific equations (BIA average method) could be used in lieu of the skinfold method for categorizing subjects who are not obviously lean or obese. In phase 1 these three methods were compared for a subsample of 59 women who were not obviously lean or obese. The %BF of 75% of these subjects was accurately estimated within 3.5%BF by using the BIA average method whereas only 71% and 46% were accurately estimated by using the densitometric and skinfold methods, respectively. In phase 2, the predictive accuracy of the Segal fatness-specific equations, used in combination with the BIA average method, was compared with other BIA equations published previously for 602 American Indian, Hispanic, and white women and men. The Segal fatness-specific equations yielded the smallest prediction error (SEE = 2.22 kg for women and 3.59 kg for men) and the %BF of 70% of the subjects was accurately estimated within 3.5%BF compared with 24-59% for other BIA equations. Therefore, we recommend using the Segal fatness-specific and average equations to assess body composition in heterogeneous populations.
Path-goal leadership theory: The long and winding road

Over 20 years have passed since Robert J. House published his classic article, “A Path-Goal Theory of Leader Effectiveness” in Administrative Science Quarterly (1971). Based on the work of Georgopolous, Mahoney, and Jones (1957) and the doctoral dissertation and earlier work of Evans (1968, 1970), House's path-goal conceptualization of leadership used Vroom's (1964) expectancy theory of motivation to identify the effects of leader behavior on subordinate outcome variables. An obvious question that comes to mind almost 2-12 decades later is: Where has such a road taken those of us in the leadership field? The present paper explores this issue by very briefly describing the theory (for more detail, see House, 1971; House & Dessler, 1974; House & Mitchell, 1974), summarizing the empirical evidence and discussing concerns about the future direction of path-goal leadership research.
Production in B. subtilis of hepatitis B core antigen and a major antigen of foot and mouth disease virus

Although Escherichia coli has generally been used as the host for expressing cloned genes, there may be advantages in using other bacteria, such as Bacillus subtilis, for making viral or eukaryotic polypeptides. B. subtilis is a non-pathogenic Grampositive bacterium which, unlike E. coli, does not produce endotoxins and excretes several extracellular proteins in large amounts. Strains of Bacillus are widely used commercially for producing enzymes and antibiotics, and B. subtilis (natto) is used in Japan as a source of food for human consumption. Existing methods for large-scale growth of B. subtilis and for isolating proteins from such cultures may be useful for making viral or eukaryotic polypeptides from Bacillus strains containing cloned DNA. We describe here how proteins cross-reacting with antibodies against either the core antigen of hepatitis B virus (HBV) or the major antigen (VP1) of foot and mouth disease virus (FMDV) can be made in B. subtilis when the appropriate viral gene is inserted into a suitable plasmid vector.
Dynamic Force Spectroscopy of Glycoprotein Ib-IX and von Willebrand Factor

The first stage in hemostasis is the binding of the platelet membrane receptor glycoprotein (GP) Ib-IX complex to the A1 domain of von Willebrand factor in the subendothelium. A bleeding disorder associated with this interaction is platelet- type von Willebrand disease, which results from gain-of-function (GOF) mutations in amino acid residues 233 or 239 of the GP Iba subunit of GP Ib-IX. Using optical tweezers and a quadrant photodetector, we investigated the binding of A1 to GOF and loss-of-function mutants of GP Iba with mutations in the region containing the two known naturally occurring mutations. By dynamically measuring unbinding force profiles at loading rates ranging from 200-20,000 pN/s, we found that the bond strengths between A1 and GP Iba GOF mutants (233, 235, 237, and 239) were significantly greater than the A1/wild-type GP Ib- IX bond at all loading rates examined (p , 0.05). In addition, mutants 231 and 232 exhibited significantly lower bond strengths with A1 than the wild-type receptors (p , 0.05). We computed unloaded dissociation rate constant (k 0 off) values for interactions involving mutant and wild-type GP Ib-IX receptors with A1 and found the A1/wild-type GP Ib-IX k 0 off value of 5.47 6 0.25 s � 1 to be significantly greater than the GOF k 0 off values and significantly less than the loss-of-function k 0 off values. Our data illustrate the importance of the bond kinetics associated with the VWF/GP Ib-IX interaction in hemostasis and also demonstrate the drastic changes in binding that can occur when only a single amino acid of GP Iba is altered.
Effects of unilateral brain damage on the processing of speech sounds.

This study sought to determine whether phonetic transformations of acoustic signals would be accomplished largely within the language-dominant left hemisphere. An analysis of error patterns on dichotically presented CVs was made on three groups of right-handed native English speaking subjects. The performance of left brain-damaged subjects, right brain-damaged subjects, and normal controls was compared in the following conditions: (1) On trials in which the members of a pair of stimuli shared a phonetic feature (either place or voice), and (2) on trials in which the members of a pair contrasted on both features. It was found that normal and right-hemispheric subjects profited from shared phonetic features. Left-hemispheric subjects, in contrast, made relatively little use of feature sharing, and to the extent that they did, showed an advantage only for shared voice. The findings are discussed in terms of two levels of processing (auditory and phonetic) and in terms of hemispheric specialization.
Communicating about gifts of life: The effect of knowledge, attitudes, and altruism on behavior and behavioral intentions regarding organ donation

Much of the limited literature on organ donation has focused on the demographic and psychographic profiles of people who are willing to become organ donors. More information about the relationship of attitudes, values, knowledge, and actual behavior among adults is needed if targeted communication campaigns promoting organ donation are to succeed. The results of a mail survey of 798 adults sampled (via stratified random sampling procedures) from two local sites of a national corporation suggest that attitudes toward donation, knowledge about organ donation, altruism, and perceived social norms are significantly associated with both actual behavior (having signed an organ donor card) and behavioral intent (among non-donors) to sign a card in the future. These findings support the major models of organ donation willingness, especially those advanced by Horton and Horton (1991) and Kopfman (1994). This study also advances current knowledge of organ donation willingness by 1) using a large, relatively diverse...
Ignition Delay in Oil Burners

IMPROPER PERFORMANCE of gun-type oil burners operating with from 5 to 15 gallons of oil per hour led to an investigation that pointed to ignition delay as the cause of malfunctioning. The delay referred to is the time interval occurring between application of voltage to the ignition transformer primary and the initiation of the spark discharge in the spark gap.
Factors responsible for preterm delivery of the immature newborn infant (≤1000 gm)

Abstract Although there are excellent studies examining factors responsible for preterm delivery in general, there is a scarcity of data describing factors specifically associated with delivery of the immature newbown infant. Our purpose is to characterize these factors in order to determine what may be done to limit preterm delivery rate of extremely low birth weight infants. Obstetric variables responsible for the birth of 338 live in-born immature neonates in a large single perinatal center were detemined. We were unable to affect 65% of these pregnancies because there was no chance for intervention prior to adminssion in 63% of these mothers, and 66% had nonpreventable obstetric complications responsible for delivery. The median time interval from admission to delivery was 7 hours. Mortality was significantly higher in those delivered within 7 hours. We also found that neonatal mortality was twice as high in infants born to women with a previous perinatal loss. The clinical implications of these results are discussed.
Speech map in the human ventral sensory-motor cortex

The study of spatial maps of the ventral sensory-motor cortex (vSMC) dates back to the earliest cortical stimulation studies. This review surveys a number of recent and historical reports of the features and function of spatial maps within vSMC towards the human behavior of speaking. Representations of the vocal tract, like other body parts, are arranged in a somatotopic fashion within ventral SMC. This region has unique features and connectivity that may give insight into its specialized function in speech production. New methods allow us to probe further into the functional role of this organization by studying the spatial dynamics of vSMC during natural speaking in humans.
Resonant-line overlap for photopumping and spoiling of x-ray lasing transitions in neonlike Fe XVII and Cu XX.

High-precision measurements (25--175 ppm) have been performed of selected 2[ital p]-3[ital s] and 2[ital p]-4[ital d] transitions in neonlike Fe and Cu that are of possible use in resonant photopumping x-ray lasing experiments. A marginal resonance of 600 ppm is found for the 2[ital p]-4[ital d] transition in neonlike Fe with the 1[ital s]-2[ital p] transition in hydrogenic Ne. By contrast, an excellent resonance of 200 ppm is determined for photopumping of the 2[ital p]-4[ital d] transition in neonlike Cu with the 1[ital s]-2[ital p] transition in heliumlike Mg, suggesting that the Cu-Mg pair is a good candidate for resonant photopumping experiments. Moreover, the separation of the 2[ital p]-3[ital s] transition in neonlike Fe and the 1[ital s]-2[ital p] transition in heliumlike F is measured to assess the resonance for use in a scheme to spoil x-ray lasing. The overlap (2000 ppm), however, appears insufficient.
Intraseasonal Variability in a Barotropic Model with Seasonal Forcing

It has recently been suggested that oscillatory topographic instability could contribute to low-frequency variability over the Northern Hemisphere midlatitudes. A barotropic potential vorticity model, with a hierarchy of forcing and topography configurations on the sphere, is used to investigate the nature of low-frequency oscillations induced by such instabilities. Steady-state solutions of the model include multiple unstable equilibria that sustain oscillatory instabilities with periods of 10 - 15 days, and 150 - 180 days, for a realistic forcing pattern, Time-dependent solutions exhibit chaotic behavior with episodic oscillations, featuring both the intraseasonal (35 - 50 day) and biweekly (10 - 15 day) modes. The former is dominated by standing spatial patterns, the latter by traveling wave patterns. The phases of the intraseasonal oscillation are robust for all cases, exhibiting a clear oscillatory exchange of atmospheric angular momentum with the solid earth via mountain troque. It is demonstrated, through linear stability analysis on the sphere, that the intraseasonal oscillations are induced by topographic instabilities. The role of the seasonal cycle is studied by prescribing an annual cycle in the forcing. In this case, the winter forcing is more favorable than the summer for the occurrence of episodic intraseasonal oscillations. Recent observations are consistent with this model result.
Arithmetic theories for computational complexity problems

This paper considers a number of arithmetic theories and shows how the strength of these theories relates to certain open problems in complexity theory concerning the polynomial-time hierarchy. These results are proved quite generally and hold for a wide class of subrecursive hierarchies. They can be used to characterize certain properties of functions provable in these theories.
Förster energy transfer from a fluorescent dye to a phosphorescent dopant: a concentration and intensity study

We report on the long-range dipole-dipole Forster energy transfer between a fluorescent dye and a phosphorescent dopant in solid thin films. For our study we used 4,4′-N,N′-dicarbazole-biphenyl as a host and the organometallic complex fac tris(2-phenylpyridine) iridium(III) as a guest. By studying the photoluminescence efficiency of films with various host and guest concentrations and by comparing these results with those obtained from a numerical model, we determine a Forster radius of R0 ∼ 3 nm.
In vitro organic nitrate bioactivation to nitric oxide by recombinant aldehyde dehydrogenase 3A1

Organic nitrates (ORNs) are commonly used anti-ischemic and anti-anginal agents, which serve as an exogenous source of the potent vasodilator nitric oxide (NO). Recently, both mitochondrial aldehyde dehydrogenase-2 (ALDH2) and cytosolic aldehyde dehydrogenase-1a1 (ALDH1A1) have been shown to exhibit the ability to selectively bioactivate various ORNs in vitro. The objective of the present research was to examine the potential role of ALDH3A1, another major cytosolic isoform of ALDH, in the in vitro bioactivation of various ORNs, and to estimate the enzyme kinetic parameters toward ORNs through mechanistic modeling. The extent of bioactivation was assayed by exposing recombinant ALDH3A1 to various concentrations of ORNs, and measuring the concentration-time profiles of released NO via a NO-specific electrode. Metabolite formation kinetics was monitored for nitroglycerin (NTG) using LC/MS/MS. Our results showed that ALDH3A1 mRNA and protein were highly expressed in C57BL/6 mouse aortic, cardiac, and hepatic tissues, and it was able to release NO from several ORNs, including NTG, isosorbide dinitrate (ISDN), isosorbide-2-mononitrate (IS-2-MN), and nicorandil with similar Vmax (0.175-0.503nmol/min/mg of ALDH3A1), and Km values of 4.01, 46.5, 818 and 5.75×10(3)μM, respectively. However, activation of isosorbide-5-mononitrate (IS-5-MN) by ALDH3A1 was undetectable in vitro. ALDH3A1 was also shown to denitrate NTG, producing primarily glyceryl 1,2-dinitrate (1,2-GDN) in preference to glyceryl 1,3-dinitrate (1,3-GDN). Therefore, ALDH3A1 may contribute to the bioactivation of ORNs in vivo.
Reparations for Genocide: Group Harm and the Limits of Liberal Individualism

In recent years, there has been a handful of lawsuits billed as attempts to gain reparations for the Armenian Genocide. These suits, however, have concerned only ancillary wrongs done to individuals, not the culpable harm done to the Armenian group as a whole through genocide. As such, these suits do not actually pursue reparations for the Armenian Genocide. Not only do awarded or negotiated reparations not function to address the damage done by the Armenian Genocide as a force of group destruction – a force whose consequences remain debilitating today politically, economically, culturally, and socially – but the basis of the cases is not the genocide. In fact, misrepresented as genocide reparations cases, they displace genuine reparation claims. The focus on individual suits and exclusion of genuine group reparations are a function of the limits of the Western liberal individual intellectual and political system that grounds international law. Only through fundamental changes in the guiding assumptions of that system will adequate, that is, true group reparations become viable.
SYMMETRIC AND ASYMMETRIC FISSION

Fission yields are calculated assuming as a first approximation that they are proportional to the product of the level densities of a pair of binary fission products. The level densities are calculated with simplified shellmodel methods. The calculations predict a single symmetric peak when the mass of the fissioning nucleus, A/sub 0/, is less than 210 (in agreement with the observed fission yields for bismuth and lighter alements), and three msxima in the fission yield curves for heavier compound nuclei. The peak corresponding to approximately equal-size binary fission products is very much higher than is observed experimentally. This is undoubtedly due to the fact that in asymmetric fission a core corresponding to 82 neutrons and 50 protons remains intact in the heavier fission prod uct, whereas for symmetric fission this core is disrupted at the cost of several Mev. Since correction for this energy effect involves a number of unknown factors, the calculated yields for symmetric fission are reduced by the same empirical factor in all calculations. An additional parameter, n, is introduced in correcting for excitation energy of the fission products and for possible departhres from equilibrium. The correction calculations, which involve only two free parameters, explain most ofmore » the fission yield data for all five known cases (Pu/sup 2//sup 3//sup 9/, U/sup 2//sup 3//sup 8/, U/sup 2//sup 3//sup 5/, U/sup 2//sup 3//sup 3/, and Th/sup 2//sup 3//sup 2/) where the compound nucleus is within a Mev or so of the fission threshold, but it is necessary to treat n as a free parameter for each curve to fit the small steep regions on each side of mass number 1/2A/sub 0/. The calculated fission yields of the more highly excited compound nucleus, Ac/sup 2//sup 2//sup 7/, predict three equally prominent maxima in qualitative agreement with observation. (auth)« less
Spectroelectrochemical Sensing Based on Multimode Selectivity Simultaneously Achievable in a Single Device. 1. Demonstration of Concept with Ferricyanide

A new type of spectroelectrochemical sensor that demonstrates three modes of selectivity (electrochemistry, spectroscopy, and selective partitioning) is demonstrated. The sensor consists of an optically transparent electrode (OTE) coated with a selective film. Sensing is based on the change in the attenuation of light passing through the OTE that accompanies an electrochemical reaction of the analyte at the electrode surface. Thus, for an analyte to be detected, it must partition into the selective coating and be electrolyzed at the potential applied to the electrode, and either the analyte or its electrolysis product must absorb light at the wavelength chosen. Selectivity for the analyte relative to other solution components is obtained by choice of coating material, electrolysis potential, and wavelength for optical monitoring. The sensor concept is demonstrated with an OTE consisting of an indium−tin oxide coating on glass that has been over-coated with a sol−gel-derived charge-selective thin film. Att...
The measurement of meteor winds over Atlanta /34 N, 84 W/

An all-sky, continuous wave radio meteor wind facility has been installed in Atlanta. A double sideband suppressed carrier CW transmitter, operating at around 32.5 MHz, with an rms output of 2 kW, has been installed, and a receiving site was established at 27 km away. Details of the equipment, together with height/time profiles of mean wind circulation and tides between 80 and 100 km, measured from August 9 to September 4, 1974, are presented.
Clinical and anatomic features in five hundred patients with fatal acute myocardial infarction.

An autopsy series of 500 patients who died with anatomic evidence of acute Invocardial infarction is reviewed. The incidence of various clinical and anatomic features is presented. The clinical and anatomic features of patients who died from the first attack of myocardial infarction is compared with those of patients dying after repeated attacks. Similarly, various other features were studied, such as the time that clapsed between the onset of symptoms and death and also the presence or absence of old myocardial infarcts.
Pericostal sutures to reinforce sternal closure after cardiac surgery

AbstractBackground and Aim of the Study: An increasing number of elderly and medically complex patients are undergoing cardiac surgery and are at increased risk for sternal dehiscence. A technique of sternal closure reinforcement with pericostal wires is described, and results are reviewed. Methods: After placement of the standard peristernal wires, one or two sets of pericostal wires were placed around ribs in the mid-portion of the sternotomy to reinforce the closure. A retrospective study over a 6-year period was carried out to determine the incidence of sternal dehiscence and any associated complications. Pericostal wires were used in well over 50% of cases. Results: The incidence of sternal dehiscence was 4 out of 1048 operations (0.38%). No adverse effects of the pericostal wires were identified. Conclusions: Frequent use of pericostal wires is associated with a low incidence of sternal dehiscence.
Adverse event rates in congenital cardiac catheterization - a multi-center experience.

Objectives: To describe case mix variation among institutions, and report adverse event rates in congenital cardiac catheterization by case type. Background: Reported adverse event rates for patients with congenital heart disease undergoing cardiac catheterization vary considerably, due to non-comparable standards of data inclusion, and highly variable case mix. Methods: The Congenital Cardiac Catheterization Outcomes Project (C3PO) has been capturing case characteristics and adverse events (AE) for all cardiac catheterizations performed at six pediatric institutions. Validity and completeness of data were independently audited. Results: Between 2/1/07 and 4/30/08, 3855 cases (670 biopsy, 1037 diagnostic, and 2148 interventional) were recorded, median number of cases per site 480 (308 to 1526). General anesthesia was used in 70% of cases (28 to 99%), and 22% of cases (15 to 26%) were non-electively or emergently performed. Three institutions performed a higher proportion of interventions during a case, 72 to 77% compared to 56 to 58%. The median rate of AE reported per institution was 16%, ranging from 5 to 18%. For interventional cases the median rate of AE reported per institution was 19% (7 to 25%) compared to 10% for diagnostic cases (6 to 16%). The incidence of AE was significantly higher for interventional compared to diagnostic cases (20% vs 10%, p<0.001), as was the incidence of higher severity AE (9% vs 5%, p<0.001). Adverse events in biopsy cases were uncommon. Conclusions: In this multi-institutional cohort, the incidence of AE is higher among interventional compared to diagnostic cases, and is very low among biopsy cases. Equitable comparisons among institutions will require the development and application of risk adjustment methods.
Five‐Year Performance Trends for Older Exercisers: A Hierarchical Model of Endurance, Strength, and Flexibility

OBJECTIVE: To examine 5-year trends in measures of physical performance, and the impact of disease upon performance, in three domains: cardiovascular fitness, musculoskeletal strength, and flexibility among older adults participating in a medically supervised exercise program. DESIGN: Longitudinal analyses of data obtained in an observational cohort study. SETTING: Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Durham, North Carolina. PARTICIPANTS: Seventy-three community-dwelling veterans between 64 and 90 years of age. INTERVENTION: Voluntary participation in a medically supervised outpatient exercise program meeting 3 days per week for 90 minutes per session. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Changes over time in cardiovascular fitness, musculoskeletal strength, and flexibility. RESULTS: Forty-nine percent of the original study participants remained in the program for a full 5 years. They had lower baseline rates of cardiorespiratory and musculoskeletal diseases than did the dropouts. Dropouts were significantly more impaired in baseline measures of cardiovascular fitness (P = .038) and strength (P = .007). Changes over time for cardiovascular fitness and strength were similar. Only linear (P < .05) and quadratic time (P < .001) were significant. Only linear time was significant for measures of flexibility (P < .05). Baseline cardiorespiratory disease, baseline musculoskeletal disease, and interaction terms were not significant. Overall, measures of physical performance demonstrated gradual improvement for 2 to 3 years, followed by a gradual decline in performance irrespective of baseline disease status. CONCLUSION: Older adults who exercise regularly, including those with multiple chronic diseases, can achieve significant gains in measures of physical performance, and these gains can be sustained for 2 to 3 years.