cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Toxic Metals in Liquid and Aerosol from Pod-Type Electronic Cigarettes.

High quality, accurate data on liquid contents and aerosol emissions from electronic nicotine delivery systems (ENDS, e.g. e-cigarettes) are crucial to address potential health concerns as these devices evolve and mature. Metals are an important class of ENDS constituents that merit attention as they have various health implications. Proper sampling, handling, and aerosol trapping materials are essential to generate accurate quantitative metals data and to reduce the likelihood of inaccurate results originating from inappropriate collection vessels and materials that contribute to high background levels. Published methods that meet these criteria were applied to the analyses of chromium, nickel, copper, zinc, cadmium, tin, and lead in liquid and aerosol from mint/menthol and tobacco flavors of currently popular pod-based devices from 3 manufacturers. Metal concentrations from pods that had not been used for generating aerosol ranged from below our lowest reportable level to 0.164 µg/g for Cr, 61.3 µg/g for Ni, 927 µg/g for Cu, 14.9 µg/g for Zn, 58.2 µg/g for Sn, and 2.56 µg/g for Pb. Cadmium was included in our analyte panel and was not present above detection limits in liquid or aerosol. Aerosol metal concentrations (using a 55 mL puff) ranged from below our lowest reportable level to 29.9 ng/10 puffs for Cr, 373 ng/10 puffs for Ni, 209 ng/10 puffs for Cu, 4,580 ng/10 puffs for Zn, 127 ng/10 puffs for Sn, and 463 ng/10 puffs for Pb. Our results showed some metals delivery from all the products examined and highly variable metal levels between manufacturer, brand, and package.
Covid-19 Vaccine Efficacy: Accuracy, Uncertainty and Projection of Cases

Background Two vaccine candidates for coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) have been announced by Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna with above 90% efficacy. The efficacy of each vaccine changes between reports with no accuracy assessment. Methods We examined data in both vaccine trials, provided 95% confidence intervals, and projected the cases that would be prevented in communities of multi-million population. Results The 95% confidence intervals reveal that the true vaccine efficacy could be as low as 86% for stated efficacy of 94.4% in an interim report, indicating the inaccuracy and uncertainty of efficacy point estimate. Both vaccines achieve an efficacy above 89% by the 95% confidence interval in updated reports. The Moderna vaccine would prevent more than 50,260 cases in communities of 1 million people with 1 year exposure. Conclusions Point estimates of vaccine efficacy transmit limited information. Corresponding statements of uncertainty, such as confidence intervals, should be provided and included in discussions of societal impact. The Covid-19 vaccines announced to date would prevent a substantial number of cases even at lower ends of the intervals. Key words: Confidence interval, Exposure, Point estimate, Poisson distribution, Risk ratio.
Sis1 delivers the State of the Union.

The heat shock response (HSR) is a gene expression program that protects cells from heat and proteotoxic stressors. In this issue, Feder et al. (2020. J. Cell Biol.https://doi.org/10.1083/jcb.202005165) show that subcellular relocalization of the cochaperone Sis1 drives the HSR by de-suppressing the transcription factor Hsf1.
The promise of awake behaving infant fMRI as a deep measure of cognition

What are the contents of the infant mind? In the last decade, computational advances in fMRI have allowed researchers access to the internal representations of adults. Applied similarly in infants, fMRI stands to revolutionize our understanding of cognitive development. By measuring representations at their source, infant fMRI overcomes some of the limitations of behavioral measures. We discuss example domains where this approach could be fruitful, including episodic memory, semantic cognition, spatial representations, and theory of mind. In these and other areas, the richness of fMRI data could give new insight into how infants represent the world and potentially help resolve ongoing debates in developmental science.
Application of OCT-Derived Attenuation Coefficient in Acute Burn-Damaged Skin.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES There remains a need to objectively monitor burn wound healing within a clinical setting, and optical coherence tomography (OCT) is proving itself one of the ideal modalities for just such a use. The aim of this study is to utilize the noninvasive and multipurpose capabilities of OCT, along with its cellular-level resolution, to demonstrate the application of optical attenuation coefficient (OAC), as derived from OCT data, to facilitate the automatic digital segmentation of the epidermis from scan images and to work as an objective indicator for burn wound healing assessment. STUDY DESIGN/MATERIALS AND METHODS A simple, yet efficient, method was used to estimate OAC from OCT images taken over multiple time points following acute burn injury. This method enhanced dermal-epidermal junction (DEJ) contrast, which facilitated the automatic segmentation of the epidermis for subsequent thickness measurements. In addition, we also measured and compared the average OAC of the dermis within said burns for correlative purposes. RESULTS Compared with unaltered OCT maps, enhanced DEJ contrast was shown in OAC maps, both from single A-lines and completed B-frames. En face epidermal thickness and dermal OAC maps both demonstrated significant changes between imaging sessions following burn injury, such as a loss of epidermal texture and decreased OAC. Quantitative analysis also showed that OAC of acute burned skin decreased below that of healthy skin following injury. CONCLUSIONS Our study has demonstrated that the OAC estimated from OCT data can be used to enhance imaging contrast to facilitate the automatic segmentation of the epidermal layer, as well as help elucidate our understanding of the pathological changes that occur in human skin when exposed to acute burn injury, which could serve as an objective indicator of skin injury and healing.
Abstracts from the Virtual 2021 North American Agricultural Safety Summit.

The Journal of Agromedicine is pleased to share the following 26 abstracts accepted for poster presentations and lightning talks at the 2021 North American Agricultural Safety Summit. The host orga...
Religion and American Populism:The View from the 2020 American National Election Study

Although the rise of right-wing populism in Western democracies has received enormous attention from social scientists, there has been much less research directed at the role of religion in creating support for populist movements. In this paper, we consider the influence of religious factors in the development of conservative populism in the United States. We find that ethnoreligious traditions have very different responses to populist themes, with Evangelical Protestants quite supportive of most populist attitudes and atheists and agnostics spearheading the opposition. Many, but not all, of these differences are explained by theological traditionalism, with the religiously orthodox in almost all ethnoreligious groups more prone to take populist stances.
Shift-Variant Deblurring for Rotationally Symmetric Systems

We present a fast image deblurring method for rotationally symmetric systems with spatially-varying aberrations. We calibrate our method with point spread function measurements along a line. Our method outperforms standard deconvolution on the UCLA Miniscope.
Adenomyosis: a clinical and pathologic appraisal.

Abstract Over a ten-year period on a private hospital service, adenomyosis was encountered in 281 cases or 8.8 per cent of the surgically removed uteri. In 71 per cent of these patients, the symptoms were due to or contributed to by the adenomyosis, yet the disease was diagnosed or mentioned preoperatively in only 23 per cent of cases. The ectopic endometrium showed functional response over all in 33 per cent of cases where this could be evaluated and secretory response to ovarian progesterone in 26.6 per cent of cases where the surface endometrium was secretory. Functionally active ectopic endometrium, however, did not always produce clinical symptoms. Sixty-seven patients had a history of treatment with synthetic progestins, and pseudodecidual change in the ectopic endometrial islands was demonstrated in some of these. The symptoms of the disease were not alleviated, and no evidence was found in this study that the widespread use of these drugs in the last decade has altered the clinical picture of adenomyosis.
Graphical Means of Directing User's Attention in the Visual Interface

This paper presents two experiments in using “masks” to direct users’ attention within a graphical user interface. Bleaching, darkening, blurring, and a solid-color pattern overlay (screening) are used to de-emphasize background material, causing the target to visually “pop-out” at the user. The tradeoff between effectively directing the user’s attention and ensuring the readability of the background material is explored. Experimental results indicate that there is a wide range of darkening and screening levels that can create a pop-out effect without degrading the readability of the masked area.
Generalized Hadamard Matrices

The paper studies a generalized Hadamard matrix H = (g_{ij}) of order n with entries g_{ij} from a group G of order n. We assume that H satisfies: (i) For m \neq k, G = \{g_{mi} g_{ki}^{-1}\mid i = 1, \ldots , n\}; (ii) g_{1i} = g_{i1} = 1 for each i; (iii) g_{ij}^{-1} = g_{ji} for all i, j. Conditions (i) and (ii) occur whenever G is a(P, L) -transitivity for a projective plane of order n. Condition (iii) holds in the case that H affords a symmetric incidence matrix for the plane. The paper proves that G must be a 2-group and extends previous work to the case that n is a square.
Simulation of nondifferentiable models for groundwater flow and transport

Non-Lipschitz continuous nonlinearities arise frequently in models for groundwater flow and species transport. The van Genuchten and Mualem PSK relations for unsaturated flow and the Freundlich equilibrium expressions in reactive transport are examples. Numerical methods such as nonlinear solvers based on Newton's method, error estimators for differential equations, and stepsize and order control methods for temporal integration are designed for differentiable problems and may fail when applied to nonsmooth nonlinear problems. In this paper we consider two approaches to this problem: (1) adding new equations to smooth the nonlinearity and (2) approximating the nonlinearity with a smoother function, such as a spline. In both cases, we replace the non-Lipschitz continuous functions with Lipschitz continuous, but sometimes non-differentiable, nonlinearities. The mathematical properties of Lipschitz continuous nonlinear equations enable standard solvers to work well. We will describe some recent theoretical advances that explain this success and use those results to justify a stepsize and error control strategy for temporal integration. We illustrate the results with two computational examples.
Electromyography interference pattern decomposition.

Decomposition of an interference pattern enables examination of individual electromyography (EMG) motor units and their firing rates at more than minimal contraction forces. In this decomposition method, significant events with a constant occurrence (near motor unit action potentials) can be enhanced, and unwanted events (distant motor unit action potentials, artifacts) eliminated, by calculating the average accumulated change while sliding a fixed-width window along the digitized EMG interference pattern. Nonparametric statistical methods are then applied to these data to determine which information is significant at the .05 level. The exact duration of significant information is identified without the need for arbitrary thresholds and filters to eliminate unwanted information. Events are then classified into groups of similar events by comparing: (1) correlation coefficients, (2) point-to-point differences, (3) amplitudes, and (4) areas. The classification is further refined by the use of firing-rate information.
Hill-climbing Search

Many computational and cognitive tasks involve a search through a large space of possible solutions. Hill-climbing, or local search, is one strategy for searching such a solution space. Keywords: search; backtracking; greedy search; combinatorial search space; optimization
Increasing Default Deferral Rates in Automatic Enrollment 401(k) Plans: The Impact on Retirement Savings Success in Plans with Automatic Escalation

Most private-sector employers that automatically enroll their 401(k) participants do so at a default rate of 3 percent of pay, a level consistent with the starting rate set out in the Pension Protection Act of 2006, but a rate that many financial experts say is far too low to generate sufficient assets for a comfortable retirement. This paper presents an analysis showing that setting a higher starting point for 401(k) contributions would make a significant difference in improving workers’ likelihood of a financially viable retirement. Raising the default saving rate to 6 percent would significantly increase the chances for achieving retirement adequacy “success” for both low- and high-income workers. Using its proprietary Retirement Security Projection Model® (RSPM), EBRI evaluated the impact of raising the default contribution rate on younger workers (with 31-40 years of simulated 401(k) eligibility) to see how many would be likely to achieve a total income real replacement rate of 80 percent at retirement -- within the typical range of replacement rates suggested by many financial consultants. Under the EBRI modeling, more than a quarter (25.6 percent) of those in the lowest-income quartile who had previously NOT been modeled to have a financially successful retirement (under the actual default contribution rates) would be successful as a result of the increase in starting deferral rate to 6 percent of compensation. Even workers in the highest-income quartile would benefit, although not as much: Just over 18 percent who would not be successful under the actual default contribution rate would be successful due to the higher 6 percent default rate.The PDF for the above title, published in the September 2012 issue of EBRI Notes, also contains the fulltext of another September 2012 EBRI Notes article abstracted on SSRN: “2012 Health Confidence Survey: Americans Remain Confident About Health Care, Concerned About Costs, Following Supreme Court Decision.”
Spectroscopy of 25Ne and the N = 16 magic number

The low-energy level structure of $^{25}\mathrm{Ne}$ has been investigated following the ${\ensuremath{\beta}}^{\ensuremath{-}}$ decay of $^{25}\mathrm{F}$. Beta-delayed \ensuremath{\gamma} spectroscopy revealed new \ensuremath{\gamma} transitions in $^{25}\mathrm{Ne}$ at 1234, 1622, and 2090 keV. The new transitions were placed in the level scheme of $^{25}\mathrm{Ne}$ in accordance with the observed $\ensuremath{\gamma}\text{\ensuremath{-}}\ensuremath{\gamma}$ coincidences. The total ${\ensuremath{\beta}}^{\ensuremath{-}}$ decay strength has been accounted for. The spins and parities of the first two excited states could be ascertained by comparison with a shell model calculation and the literature. The half-life for $^{25}\mathrm{F}$ decay was also remeasured using fragment-$\ensuremath{\beta}\text{\ensuremath{-}}\ensuremath{\gamma}$ correlations, revealing a value of 90 \ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{} 9 ms. Comparison with shell model calculations are indicative of a wider $N=16$ gap as compared to the stable nuclei.
IL-3 augments adhesiveness for endothelium and CD11b expression in human basophils but not neutrophils.

A number of natural and recombinant human cytokines have been tested for their ability to activate basophil and neutrophil adhesiveness for human umbilical vein endothelial cells in vitro. Coincubation of basophils and endothelial cell monolayers for 10 min with biologically relevant concentrations of rIL-1, natural IL-2, rIL-4, rIL-5, rIL-6, rIL-8, rGM-CSF, and rIFN-gamma had no effect on basophil adhesiveness. In contrast, rIL-3 induced basophil adhesiveness for endothelial cells (optimal at 1 ng/ml: 144 +/- 18% of control adherence (mean +/- SEM); control basophil binding, 13 +/- 3%, n = 9, p less than or equal to 0.05). This increase in adhesiveness was similar in magnitude to that induced by an optimal concentration of a known potent inducer of basophil adhesiveness (1 microM FMLP, 164 +/- 15% of control adherence, n = 9). Under these experimental conditions, the effects of rIL-3 occurred at concentrations of 0.1 to 30 ng/ml, were partially dependent on calcium, and were not accompanied by histamine release. Fixation experiments demonstrated that the effect of rIL-3 was directed against the basophil rather than the endothelial cell. Neither rIL-3 nor the other cytokines tested had any effect on the adherence of 51Cr-labeled neutrophils, even when tested simultaneously on cells from the same donors. Under experimental conditions that permitted histamine release, no correlation was seen between the ability of rIL-3 (0.3 to 300 ng/ml) to induce histamine release or enhance adhesiveness (n = 8). mAb blocking experiments demonstrated a role for both CD11 and CD18 adherence glycoproteins in basophil adherence induced by rIL-3, and indirect immunofluorescence and flow cytometric analysis revealed that rIL-3 treatment led to rapid and sustained increases in cell surface expression of CD11b antigens on basophils but not neutrophils (e.g., after 10 min: 217 +/- 29 vs 91 +/- 11% of control mean fluorescence intensity, p less than 0.05). However, no correlation was seen between the magnitude of changes in CD11b expression and changes in adhesion when tested simultaneously. These results suggest that local production of IL-3 during allergic reactions in vivo may selectively promote basophil activation, adhesion to endothelium, and recruitment to extravascular sites of inflammation.
IN THE AUTHOR’S HAND:: ARTIFACTS OF ORIGIN AND TWENTIETH-CENTURY READING PRACTICE

Our contemporary fascination with origins, with the creative moment itself, goes back at least as far as the Romantic period, which, more than any other, enshrined the literary fragment as a relic of original artistic inspiration. Though Samuel Coleridge’s unfinished poem “Kubla Khan” is perhaps a familiar example, it is nevertheless worth retelling his account of that poem for what it conveys about romantic notions of creativity. When the poem was first published in 1816, Coleridge prefaced the text with a note explaining the circumstances of its composition and the reason the poem remained unfinished. 1 As he explained, he composed . . .
Cancer hallmarks through the network lens

Given the role and relevance of the heterogeneity hallmark in cancer, a current need is to advance the knowledge of the network dynamics building the complex architecture underlying the relationships between cell sub-populations. This step would shed light over obscure mechanisms such as acquired resistance to drugs, for instance. Network medicine has established itself as a systems integrative approach that leverages on the interpretation offered by community-like behavior of bio-entities and clinical variables. Translated over cell sub-population cells, there is a strong case for deciphering cooperative versus antagonist network dynamics in order to determine better therapeutic strategies.
Everything's Better in Moderation: Young Women's Gender Role Attitudes and Risky Sexual Behavior

Abstract Purpose This study examines the association between gender role attitudes and risky sexual behavior among young women. Previous studies have posed seemingly contradictory arguments: that either traditional attitudes or egalitarian attitudes are associated with riskier behavior. Methods Data are based on the children of the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth, representing 520 sexually active 18–19-year-old women. Propensity radius matching was used to assess differences in rates of multiple sexual partners and sex outside of a committed relationship. Results Relative to moderate gender role attitudes, both egalitarian gender role attitudes and traditional gender role attitudes are associated with higher rates of risky sexual behavior. Both women with egalitarian role attitudes and those with traditional role attitudes have about a 10% higher prevalence of risky behavior compared to women with more moderate gender role attitudes. Conclusion Existing, seemingly contradictory contentions about the relationship between gender role attitudes and risky sexual behavior may be more coherent than they seem. By shifting focus from risk to protection, the results suggest that moderate gender role attitudes are protective against risky sexual behavior. Future studies should investigate the causal mechanisms and intervention implications of this protective relationship.
Sliding Window Detection Probabilities

A method is proposed for computing sliding window detection probabilities which have applications in track-while-scan acquisition logic and radar detection theory. The sliding window probability is the probability of achieving m successes out of n consecutive events at least once by the Nth opportunity. Expressions are derived for these probabilities as a function of N and p (the per-event success probability) for 1 ? n ? 4 and m ? n. Tabulated results are presented for the mean and standard deviation of the detection delay associated with each m/n logic.
Ecological risk assessment of multimedia hazardous air pollutants: estimating exposure and effects

Abstract Hazardous air pollutants, some of which have the potential for multimedia distribution, raise several hurdles for ecological risk assessment including: (1) the development of an adequate transport, fate and exposure model; and (2) the selection of exposure–response models that can accommodate multiple exposure routes for ecological receptors. To address the first issue, the EPA Office of Air Quality Planning and Standards has developed TRIM.FaTE, a mass-balance, fate, transport, and ecological exposure model that is a component of the Total Risk Integrated Methodology (TRIM) for air pollutants. In addition to abiotic transfers and transformations, TRIM.FaTE estimates the uptake of a chemical by terrestrial and aquatic organisms with time. Measures of exposure that TRIM.FaTE can provide include: (1) body burdens or tissue concentrations; (2) doses averaged over any time period; or (3) concentrations of chemicals in abiotic media. The model provides the user with the flexibility to choose the exposure–response thresholds or dose–response relationships that are best suited to data availability, routes of exposure, and the mechanism of toxicity of the chemical to an ecological receptor. One of the challenges of incorporating TRIM.FaTE into a risk assessment methodology lies in defining a streamlined model simulation scenario for initial screening-level risk assessments. These assessments may encompass multiple facilities that emit a variety of pollutants near diverse ecosystems. The risk information on ecological assessment methodology that is described is applicable to the EPA Residual Risk Program with emphasis on multimedia pollutants and the role of TRIM.FaTE.
Meeting the (N-Terminal) End with Acetylation

Cell-fate decisions are tightly linked to cellular energy status. In this issue, Yi et al. (2011) introduce a mechanism by which Bcl-xL lowers the threshold for apoptosis by suppressing acetyl-CoA production, which, in turn, suppresses the N-alpha-acetylation important for activation of the proapoptotic protease caspase-2.
Formal verification of distributed aircraft controllers

As airspace becomes ever more crowded, air traffic management must reduce both space and time between aircraft to increase throughput, making on-board collision avoidance systems ever more important. These safety-critical systems must be extremely reliable, and as such, many resources are invested into ensuring that the protocols they implement are accurate. Still, it is challenging to guarantee that such a controller works properly under every circumstance. In tough scenarios where a large number of aircraft must execute a collision avoidance maneuver, a human pilot under stress is not necessarily able to understand the complexity of the distributed system and may not take the right course, especially if actions must be taken quickly. We consider a class of distributed collision avoidance controllers designed to work even in environments with arbitrarily many aircraft or UAVs. We prove that the controllers never allow the aircraft to get too close to one another, even when new planes approach an in-progress avoidance maneuver that the new plane may not be aware of. Because these safety guarantees always hold, the aircraft are protected against unexpected emergent behavior which simulation and testing may miss. This is an important step in formally verified, flyable, and distributed air traffic control.
Early corrosion detection in structural carbon steels using electromagnetic sensors

The capability and sensitivity of an electromagnetic (EM) sensor to be used as a non destructive evaluation (NDE) technique to detect and monitor corrosion in structural steels has been evaluated. Three structural carbon steels: AISI 1018, AISI 1045, and Stress Proof, were used for the study. The effect of corrosion on the magnetic properties of the steels was evaluated. Correlation curves and equations relating mass loss due to corrosion at early stages and magnetic property are presented. Based on the results it is established that the EM sensor has the potential to be used as a reliable NDE tool to detect corrosion at early stages based on the variation in magnetic saturation. These results are used to estimate and monitor the degree of damage in terms of mass loss.
Fecundity of Cryptosporidium parvum is correlated with intracellular levels of the viral symbiont CPV

Differences in the virulence and fecundity of Cryptosporidium parvum isolates have been observed by several researchers studying cryptosporidiosis. The purpose of the present study was to determine if there was a correlation between intracellular levels of the viral symbiont CPV in C. parvum and fecundity of two isolates of the parasite, namely C. parvum Beltsville (B) and C. parvum Iowa (I). Dairy calves infected with 10(6)C. parvum-B excreted 5-fold more oocysts compared with calves infected with the same number of C. parvum-I oocysts. The increased fecundity of the former strain was corroborated by semi-quantitative PCR assay of DNA isolated from cell cultures infected with either C. parvum-B or C. parvum-I. Quantitative reverse transcriptase-PCR analysis of viral RNA revealed a 3-fold greater number of CPV in C. parvum-B compared with C. parvum-I oocysts. These findings may indicate a role for CPV in fecundity and possibly virulence of C. parvum.
Community Differentiation Along a Dune Succession: An Experimental Approach With Corprophilous Fungi

Exposure of laboratory-collected rabbit feces in different habitats associated with a dune succession in Presque Isle State Park, Erie, Pennsylvania, USA, affected the structure and composition of the coprophilous fungal communities developing on these feces. Nylon mesh litter bags containing 4-g samples of rabbit feces, the latter incorporating a similar fungal inoculum, were exposed in the field for either 2- or 4-wk intervals throughout the summer of 1975. This was followed by a 40-d incubation in laboratory moist chambers, during which time the development (sporulation) of fungal populations was studied and the frequency of occurrence of fungal taxa recorded. Com- munity analysis was accomplished by position vectors ordination, and analysis of species diversity values. Experimental evidence is offered for the first time that microclimatic amelioration and sta- bilization in later stages of ecosystem development can be important in determining microfungal diversity. Community diversity increased when dune habitat and/or exposure interval were associated with a less stressful environment (i.e., presence of vegetational cover or greater available moisture).
An autoradiographic analysis of the time of origin of neurons in the hypothalamus of the cat

The pattern of neurogenesis of the cat hypothalamus was studied by the use of the [3H]thymidine autoradiographic method. The neurons of the cat hypothalamus are nearly all generated in a period from embryonic days E21 to E35, and in most cases the neurons in a single nucleus are generated over a much shorter period. The dominant gradient along which the cells are organized is lateral-medial (outside-in). This gradient was apparent in all nuclei except the periventricular and arcuate nuclei. Two other gradients were observed in some, but not all, nuclei. These were along the dorsoventral and the posteroanterior axis. The dorsoventral gradient was uniformly less pronounced than the lateromedial gradient. The posteroanterior gradient was most obvious in the mammillary complex. An analysis of the data suggests that the neurons of individual nuclei do not necessarily have a unique production history. This suggests that insofar as nuclear formation is concerned, factors such as the parental population generating the neurons that populate a nucleus, as well as the early neuronal interconnections, may play a more important role than the birthdates themselves.
Stimulation of Protein Kinase C Activity in Cells Expressing Human Parathyroid Hormone Receptors by C- and N-Terminally Truncated Fragments of Parathyroid Hormone 1–34

The parathyroid hormone (PTH) fragment PTH(1-34) stimulates adenylyl cyclase, phospholipase C (PLC), and protein kinase C's (PKCs) in cells that express human, opossum, or rodent type 1 PTH/PTH-related protein (PTHrP) receptors (PTHR1s). Certain carboxyl (C)-terminally truncated fragments of PTH(1-34), such as human PTH(1-31) [hPTH-(1-31)NH2], stimulate adenylyl cyclase but not PKCs in rat osteoblasts or PLC and PKCs in mouse kidney cells. The hPTH(1-31)NH2 peptide does fully stimulate PLC in HKRK B7 porcine renal epithelial cells that express 950,000 transfected hPTHR1s per cell. Amino (N)-terminally truncated fragments, such as bovine PTH(3-34) [bPTH(3-34)], hPTH(3-34)NH2, and hPTH(13-34), stimulate PKCs in Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cells expressing transfected rat receptors, opossum kidney cells, and rat osteoblasts, but an intact N terminus is needed to stimulate PLC via human PTHR1s in HKRK B7 cells. We now report that the N-terminally truncated analogs bPTH(3-34)NH2 and hPTH(13-34)OH do activate PKC via human PTHR1s in HKRK B7 cells, although less effectively than hPTH(1-34)NH2 and hPTH(1-31)NH2. Moreover, in a homologous human cell system (normal foreskin fibroblasts), these N-terminally truncated fragments stimulate PKC activity as strongly as hPTH(1-34)NH2 and hPTH(1-31)NH2. Thus, it appears that unlike their opossum and rodent equivalents, hPTHR1s can stimulate both PLC and PKCs when activated by C-terminally truncated fragments of PTH(1-34). Furthermore, hPTHR1s, like the PTHR1s in rat osteoblasts, opossum kidney cells, and rat PTHR1-transfected CHO cells also can stimulate PKC activity by a mechanism that is independent of PLC. The efficiency with which the N-terminally truncated PTH peptides stimulate PKC activity depends on the cellular context in which the PTHR1s are expressed.
Kinetics of toluene degradation by a nitrate-reducing bacterium isolated from a groundwater aquifer.

Groundwater from a xylene-contaminated aquifer was enriched in the laboratory in the presence of toluene, xylenes, ethylbenzene, and benzene. A pure culture that degrades toluene and m-xylene under nitrate-reducing conditions was isolated. Fatty acid analysis, 16S rRNA sequencing, and morphological traits indicate that the isolate was a strain of Azoarcus tolulyticus. The kinetics of toluene degradation under nitrate-reducing conditions by this isolate was determined. Nitrate reduction does not proceed beyond nitrite. Nitrate and toluene are substrate limiting at low concentrations, whereas toluene, nitrate, and nitrite are inhibitory at high concentrations. Several inhibition models were compared to experimental data to represent inhibition by these substrates. A kinetic model for toluene and nitrate degradation as well as for cell growth and nitrite production was developed and compared to experimental data. The results of this work may find important application in the remediation of groundwater aquifers contaminated with aromatic hydrocarbons.
Finding more useful information faster from web search results

In this paper, we propose a prototype system for automatic generation of concept hierarchies to be used as an overview of search results. The system sends a user's query to five search engines and receives a returned list of relevant web pages. The system then extracts query-oriented concept terms from snippets that come with the returned hits. Concept terms are organized into a concept hierarchy using a co-occurrence-based classification technique. Finally, concepts in returned documents are dynamically highlighted according to terms in the selected concept branch that lead to the chosen document. The user study shows that concept hierarchies do provide easy navigation and browsing of web returned documents. The results also show that users can find a document of interest no matter how low it is ranked in the retrieved list.
A Generalized Index of Concentration

A generalized nth power index of concentration is defined; for n = 1 it yields the entropy-based "relative redundancy, " and for n = 2 it yields the Ray and Singer (1973) concentration coefficient. Relations are established with a dozen other indices of concentration, diversity, fragmentation, differentiation, and inequality used in social science literature. Explicit conversion formulas are given for these often apparently unrelated indices. For multicomponent systems, equivalent two-component systems are defined.
Laser-Induced Intermodulated Flame Fluorescence: A New Approach to Scattering Correction in Analytical Atomic Fluorescence

It is shown that the technique of intermodulated fluorescence can effectively correct for scattering problems in analytical flame fluorescence spectroscopy. When two laser beams, amplitude-modulated at different frequencies f1 and f2 and counterpropagated colinearly throughout an atomizer, are tuned to the absorption transition of the element of interest, non-linear mixing of the fluorescence signal results, due to saturation effects. By extraction of the signal at the sum or difference frequency, f2 ± f2, the linear scattering component of the spectrum can be essentially eliminated. This has been demonstrated for a sodium solution nebulized in a premixed, laminar, argon-oxygen-hydrogen flame. Because the modulation signal can be observed only at the intersection volume between the two beams, this technique constitutes a powerful tool for spatially resolved combustion diagnostics.
THE MEASUREMENT OF THE DIAMETERS OF ERYTHROCYTES. —VII. ON THE VALUE OF k IN THE DIFFRACTION EQUATION d = k cosec σ, WITH SPECIAL REFERENCE TO THE SCATTER OF THE RED-CELL POPULATION

1. The paper is concerned essentially with the value which ought to be assigned to k in the diffraction equation d = k cosec θ, when the trichromatic light of the Hg arc is used. It is shown that for discoidal cells in plasma or serum k = 1·200, but that for cells in their spherical form in isotonic saline k = 1·095. The constant has the same value when the cells are in hypotonic saline. For cells in dried films k = 1·095. The value of the constant, however, may depend on the type of cell. 2. A method for the diffractometric measurement of red cells in plasma is described, and the results are shown to agree with those obtained by photography. 3. A method for removing the “rouleaux-forming substance” from serum or plasma is described. The substance is adsorbed on the activated charcoal “darko.” For cells in “darko”-treated plasma k = 1·200, as for cells in normal plasma. The diameter of the cells, however, is reduced when they are suspended in plasma treated with “darko.” 4. Red cells assume the form of perfect spheres in plasma or serum treated with small quantities of lecithin. This fact is utilised as the basis of a method for measuring red-cell volume in plasma, the volume being calculated from the diffractometrically measured radius of the spheres. The results obtained by this method agree with those obtained by other reliable methods. 5. It is shown, both theoretically and experimentally, by the production of an anaemia in rabbits, that the value of k in the diffraction equation increases as the scatter of the red-cell diameters increases. 6. The observation of MILLAR and myself, that red-cell diameter increases in the rabbit as a result of anaemia from haemorrhage, is confirmed.
Transtracheal oxygen delivery and patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

A total of 43 severely ill COPD patients already on 24 h, or near 24 h, per day supplemental O 2 were randomly assigned to transtracheal oxygen delivery ( n = 22) or usual delivery of O 2 by nasal cannula or face mask ( n = 21). A few important changes were found in pulmonary function over time such as decreases of PEFR, FEF and MVV for both experimental and control groups, and FEV 1% and FEV 3% in experimental patients. At the same time, there was a significant decrease in both hematocrit and hemoglobin, and per cent shunting for the experimental group and a significant increase in per cent shunting in the control group. Physical, social and psychologic assessments showed significant improvement over time for experimental patients and declines for the control group. Lastly, medical costs were positively affected, as fewer days were spent in hospital post-study enrollment by experimental than control groups, and post-enrollment relative to pre-enrollment by experimental patients.
Production of hypernuclei in a 2.1 GeV/nucleon oxygen beam

The first hypernuclei production experiment using a beam of heavy ions from the Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory Bevatron is described. Mass 16 hypernuclei were produced by 2.1 GeV/nucleon $^{16}\mathrm{O}$ ions incident on a polyethylene target. These relativistic hypernuclei were studied with large gap spark chambers that were electronically triggered by the low momentum ${K}^{+}$ meson produced in association. Analysis of 22 events yields a mean lifetime $\ensuremath{\tau}(^{16}Z_{\ensuremath{\Lambda}})=({0.86}_{\ensuremath{-}0.26}^{+0.33})\ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{}{10}^{\ensuremath{-}10}$ sec.NUCLEAR REACTIONS Hypernuclei $(^{16}\mathrm{O},^{16}\mathrm{N}_{\ensuremath{\Lambda}} or ^{16}\mathrm{O}_{\ensuremath{\Lambda}}) {K}^{+}$, $E=2.1$ GeV/nucleon, polyethylene target, ${\ensuremath{\sigma}}_{t}$ roughly measured; mean lifetime of mass 16 hypernuclei measured.
Design and modeling of InP waveguide based narrowband optical filters and add-drop multiplexers for WDM applications

Narrowband optical filters and all-optical Add-Drop Multiplexers (ADMs) are key components in dense-WDM systems. Implementation of these devices in semiconductor waveguide technology allows for integration with passive and active photonic devices for compact, high-functionality modules. This paper describes an approach based on quarter-wave shifted DBR filters. Add-Drop Multiplexers are implemented by integrating of filters with directional couplers, and the devices are analyzed using a combination of transfer matrix methods and commercial beam propagation software. Through analytical and numerical methods we demonstrate the possibility of implementing filters and ADMs with an optical bandwidth less than 25GHz. Channel cross-talk isolation better than -20dB can be achieved, with waveguide propagation loss being the critical issue. Using filter design from the theory of electron filters translated to the optical domain, higher-order optical filters with Chebyshev and Butterworth responses are designed. Reconfigurability is important for network versatility and robustness. Semiconductor waveguide devices can be tuned by injection of carriers. Based on the mode, the tuning range is evaluated and found to span several channel spacings, limited by the added waveguide propagation loss form free-carrier absorption. The design of a 25 GHz filter with 300 GHz tuning range is shown.
Visual Discrimination, an Interpretation in Terms of Detectability Theory*

Geometric squares, and rectangles (squares vertically elongated by 2%), were presented singly in a random sequence to three observers. By using the detectability-model parameter d′ as a measure, average discriminability was found to be 1.32. Two-, three-, and four-category response scales were shown to give equivalent discriminability data. Discriminability was not significantly affected by the inclusion of an extraneous stimulus (a square vertically elongated either 1% or 3%) interspersed randomly in the square-rectangle sequence without the observers’ knowledge. The data were interpreted as a favorable empirical test of detectability-theory assumptions applied to a visual discrimination task.
Decentralized error-dependent transmission control for model-based estimation over a multi-access network

This paper is motivated by the estimation problem and active safety design for ITS. We investigate the performance of model-based estimation over a multi-access network and emphasizes on asymptotic time-averaged MSE while using error-dependent transmission control. The performance of this decentralized policy is analyzed and an improved policy is also proposed to achieve robustness in a shared channel. Our results suggest that, while designing communication logic for vehicular safety applications, dynamics of the system and channel congestion should be considered at the same time.
Molecular theory of surfactant micelles in aqueous solution

Abstract This paper presents an overview of recent theoretical work on the molecular theory of micelle formation. A primary emphasis is given to the role of computer simulation of condensed materials in understanding micelle structure and thermodynamics. Much of the detailed discussion focuses on recent Monte Carlo studies of a simple molecular model of micellar aggregates. For clarity of presentation, a compact, physical organization of micelle thermodynamic equilibrium ratios is advocated. This procedure provides a simple basis for physical reasoning about the molecular roles of attractive and repulsive forces in micellization thermodynamics. The molecularly coarse-grained micellar structural information available from current small angle neutron scattering (SANS) measurements is surveyed. The structural predictions of the reviewed Monte Carlo calculations are shown to be in good qualitative agreement with the SANS data. The Monte Carlo results indicate that micelles should be viewed as fluid aggregates with a low surface free energy relative to water-hydrocarbon interfaces. The computer experimental results suggest that dynamic surface and shape fluctuations should be considered in understanding micelle structure at a molecular level. Several instantaneous structures are graphically displayed to illustrate that these transitory structures could be qualitatively described as “dry” but irregularly shaped. Configurations drawn from Monte Carlo calculations on cylindrical and bilayer structures of infinite extent are used to illustrate the role of surface flexibility in these systems.
REVIVAL OF INHIBITED IN VITRO LIPOLYSIS

This study focused on the ability of supplemental reactants [emulsion (Em), bile salts (BS), calcium (Ca), lipase-colipase (LC)] to increase (revive) the rate of lipolysis in samples that had been reacted to the point of significant inhibition. An in vitro method was used to monitor the rate of lipase-catalyzed hydrolysis of olive oil. Inhibited control samples and samples containing chitosan were successfully revived only by the addition of Em. Inhibited samples containing red wheat bran were revived only by the addition of Em or BS and these reactants were equally effective. Inhibited samples containing extracts of either chitin or oat bran, were revived to the greatest extent by Em and moderately by BS. For all samples, it was concluded that interfacial congestion was an important cause of lipolysis inhibition.
Conscious or unconscious: the impact of sedation choice on colon adenoma detection.

AIM: To determine if anesthesiologist-monitored use of propofol results in improved detection of adenomas when compared with routine conscious sedation. METHODS: This retrospective study was conducted at two separate hospital-based endoscopy units where approximately 12 000 endoscopic procedures are performed annually, with one endoscopy unit exclusively using anesthesiologist-monitored propofol. Three thousand two hundred and fifty-two patients underwent initial screening or surveillance colonoscopies. Our primary end point was the adenoma detection rate, defined as the number of patients in whom at least one adenoma was found, associated with the type of sedation. RESULTS: Three thousand two hundred and fifty-two outpatient colonoscopies were performed by five selected endoscopists. At least one adenoma was detected in 27.6% of patients (95% CI = 26.0-29.1) with no difference in the detection rate between the anesthesiologist -propofol and group and the gastroenterologist-midazolam/fentanyl group (28.1% vs 27.1%, P = 0.53). CONCLUSION: The type of sedation used during co-lonoscopy does not affect the number of patients in whom adenomatous polyps are detected.
The assessment of clinical competence on the emergency medicine specialty certification examination: The validity of clinically relevant multiple-choice items

This study investigated the effect of clinically relevant multiple-choice item content on the valid discrimination or statistical separation of groups with known and different levels of experience and training in emergency medicine. Items for a high-clinical-relevance (HCR) subscale were chosen for their highest correlation with independent ratings of clinical performance on 12 simulated patient encounters relevant to emergency medicine. Low-clinical-relevance (LCR) subscale items were selected for their lowest correlation with the same criterion ratings. HCR was significantly more statistically discriminating of candidate groups which differed with respect to years of training and experience in emergency medicine. Additionally, the HCR subscale was more reliable and less difficult than the LCR subscale.
Does Breastfeeding Protect Against Childhood Obesity? Moving Beyond Observational Evidence

Human milk is the optimal feeding choice for infants, as it dynamically provides the nutrients, immunity support, and other bioactive factors needed for infants at specific stages during development. Observational studies and several meta-analyses have suggested that breastfeeding is protective against development of obesity in childhood and beyond. However, these findings are not without significant controversy. This review includes an overview of observational findings to date, then focuses on three specific pathways that connect human milk and infant physiology: maternal obesity, microbiome development in the infant, and the development of taste preference and diet quality. Each of these pathways involves complex interactions between mother and infant, includes both biologic and non-biologic factors, and may have both direct and indirect effects on obesity risk in the offspring. This type of integrated approach to examining breastfeeding and childhood obesity is necessary to advance research in this area beyond observational findings.