cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Behavioral and Feeding Assays Reveal a Western Corn Rootworm (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae) Variant That Is Attracted to Soybean

Economic injury by western corn rootworm, Diabrotica virgifera virgifera LeConte, larvae to corn grown in rotation with soybean has been increasing in areas of north-western Indiana and east central Illinois. To ascertain whether behavioral changes in adults are resulting in larval damage to corn in these areas, the attractiveness of soybean, corn, and associated cropping environments to western corn rootworm beetles from Indiana, Iowa, and Nebraska was compared using laboratory assays. In a 6-choice host preference assay, beetles from Indiana preferred soybean without crop residue and pollinated corn more than water wicks, corn residue, pollinating corn, or soybean with corn residue. Beetles from Nebraska favored pollinating and pollinated corn. Western corn rootworm beetles from Indiana selected soybean without residue more than beetles from either Iowa or Nebraska. In a no-choice feeding assay, beetles from Indiana consumed a greater amount of soybean leaf area than did beetles from either Iowa or Nebraska. Results were obtained using laboratory assays and thus may not always be applicable to the field. However, findings indicated that a western corn rootworm variant may be present in a portion of the population in northwestern Indiana. This variant preferred soybean environments over corn environments. Risk of economic injury to corn planted after soybean may be greater where this variant is prevalent.
A Deceptive Case of Cellulitis Caused by a Gram-Negative Pathogen

Yokenella regensburgei is a member of the family Enterobacteriaceae that has rarely been implicated in clinical disease. We report here a case of septicemia with a skin and soft tissue source caused by Y. regensburgei in an immunocompromised host.
Complexity-simplicity, symmetry-asymmetry, and sociometric choice

In order to study the interrelationships associated with shape preference, 30 undergraduate Ss made complexity-simplicity and symmetry-asymmetry choices, and also made sociometric choices of others as well as predicting the sociometric choices of others. Ss who preferred complexity tended to choose Ss who preferred symmetry, which was interpreted as complementary choice. Other findings suggest that complexity and asymmetry are not identical, although there is some relationship between the two.
Picosecond gain measurements in a GaAlAs diode laser.

The amplification of injected optical pulses has been used to investigate the temporal response of the gain of a GaAlAs diode laser. Near-infrared dye-laser pulses of 4-psec duration were passed through the active region of the laser diode, which was driven by 80-psec current pulses. The measured gain-buildup time of 325 psec is likely determined by the electrical circuit parameters of the device, i.e., junction capacitance and resistance and parasitic inductance. The gain decayed with a time constant of 375 psec consistent with lateral carrier outdiffusion from the junction region.
Evaluation of Energy Savings by Optimization Control in Thermal Energy Storage System

By using both passive and active thermal energy storage (TES) systems, a significant portion of the on-peak cooling can be shifted to the off-peak period and thus the energy costs associated can be considerably reduced. This paper summarizes the results of a comprehensive evaluation of the performance of optimal and conventional control strategies for combined passive (i.e., pre-cooling building thermal mass) and active (i.e., charging ice storage tanks) TES systems for typical commercial buildings in the US. Specifically, the paper examines the impact of selected design and operating factors on the performance of optimal control strategies for combined passive and active TES systems. Among the factors analyzed include building shape, climate, adaptation of optimization control, TES systems control, and utility rate structure. The analysis is performed using a detailed simulation energy program (EnergyPlus) modified to incorporate TES models and various optimization algorithms. The results of the analysis indicate that optimal TES priority controls can achieve up to 35% in on-peak electricity demand reduction and up to 30% in total electrical energy cost savings.Copyright © 2006 by ASME
AN EVALUATION OF SIGNS IN OCULAR MYASTHENIA GRAVIS AND CORRELATION WITH ACETYLCHOLINE RECEPTOR ANTIBODIES

Fifteen patients with ocular myasthenia gravis were examined in detail for 21 different signs, and tested for acetylcholine receptor antibodies. The major signs of ocular myasthenia gravis included ptosis, disorders of ocular rotations, weakness of eyelid closure, "pseudosupranuclear" signs and the lid twitch sign. Acetylcholine receptor antibodies were found in eight of the 15 patients. One hundred and four normal, non-myasthenic patients were also examined for the lid twitch response, and the relationship between the lid twitch of ocular myasthenia gravis and that found in normal subjects is discussed.
Initial Steps of the Photodissociation of the CO Ligated Heme Group

Upon irradiation of CO ligated hemoglobin or myoglobin with a laser pulse of 570 nm (2.17 eV), the proteins are electronically excited into the Q states and undergo dissociation of the CO ligand within 50 fs. Because the Q state is well-known to correspond to a π−π* transition localized at the iron porphyrin (heme) group, this should not greatly affect the binding of the CO ligand. It is shown by means of time-dependent density functional theory that, in fact, the Q states decay into the 5 A‘ ‘ and 3 A‘ singlet excited states. The latter states are repulsive along the Fe−CO stretch coordinate and, consequently, lead to the dissociation of the heme−CO bond. The nature of the repulsive states is analyzed with attachment/detachment density plots. At the equilibrium geometry of heme−CO, they can be understood as an excitation from a π-back-bonding orbital into an anti-back-bonding orbital which nicely explains their repulsive nature. However, at a separation distance of 2.5 A, the state has charge-transfer ch...
Fuel-Efficient Interferometric Imaging Maneuvers in Near-Earth Orbit

In this paper, a methodology to design fuel-efficient maneuvers for space-based interferometric imaging systems located in near-Earth orbits, under time and imaging constraints, is proposed. The methodology is hierarchical and consists of a higher-level nonlinear programming problem and a lower-level linear quadratic tracker. Solutions are obtained for the purpose of quantifying the relationship between the quality of an image obtained by a multispacecraft interferometric imaging system and the dynamic requirements of such imaging maneuvers. These maneuvers are then used for the design of a system capable of obtaining very-high-resolution images from a near-Earth orbital location. To relate the fuel requirements with image quality, the relationship between the imaging process and the error in the final image is studied, and a quality factor is designed to relate the reliability of an image to the trajectory of the spacecraft and, hence, the fuel usage. As an application, a midinfrared imager system located at geostationary orbit is studied and features of the design of such maneuvers are enumerated.
Dissociative chemisorption of NF3 at Si(100) surfaces

Abstract Nitrogen trifluoride is found to undergo spontaneous dissociative chemisorption at Si(100) surfaces. Both fluorine and nitrogen are incorporated at the surface. The ratio of chemisorbed N and F on the surface is non-stoichiometric for NF 3 , suggesting that two or more competitive reaction pathways may occur.
Problems at Work: Exploring the Correlates of Role Stress Among Correctional Staff:

There is a large body of literature that strongly suggests that role stress is harmful to correctional staff. Past research has found that role stress is linked to lower job satisfaction, lower org...
Data assimilation using a gradient descent method for estimation of intraoperative brain deformation.

Abstract Biomechanical models that simulate brain deformation are gaining attention as alternatives for brain shift compensation. One approach, known as the “forced-displacement method”, constrains the model to exactly match the measured data through boundary condition (BC) assignment. Although it improves model estimates and is computationally attractive, the method generates fictitious forces and may be ill-advised due to measurement uncertainty. Previously, we have shown that by assimilating intraoperatively acquired brain displacements in an inversion scheme, the Representer algorithm (REP) is able to maintain stress-free BCs and improve model estimates by 33% over those without data guidance in a controlled environment. However, REP is computationally efficient only when a few data points are used for model guidance because its costs scale linearly in the number of data points assimilated, thereby limiting its utility (and accuracy) in clinical settings. In this paper, we present a steepest gradient descent algorithm (SGD) whose computational complexity scales nearly invariantly with the number of measurements assimilated by iteratively adjusting the forcing conditions to minimize the difference between measured and model-estimated displacements (model-data misfit). Solutions of full linear systems of equations are achieved with a parallelized direct solver on a shared-memory, eight-processor Linux cluster. We summarize the error contributions from the entire process of model-updated image registration compensation and we show that SGD is able to attain model estimates comparable to or better than those obtained with REP, capturing about 74–82% of tumor displacement, but with a computational effort that is significantly less (a factor of 4-fold or more reduction relative to REP) and nearly invariant to the amount of sparse data involved when the number of points assimilated is large. Based on five patient cases, an average computational cost of approximately 2 min for estimating whole-brain deformation has been achieved with SGD using 100 sparse data points, suggesting the new algorithm is sufficiently fast with adequate accuracy for routine use in the operating room (OR).
A large scale study of wireless search behavior: Google mobile search

We present a large scale study of search patterns on Google's mobile search interface. Our goal is to understand the current state of wireless search by analyzing over 1 Million hits to Google's mobile search sites. Our study also includes the examination of search queries and the general categories under which they fall. We follow users throughout multiple interactions to determine search behavior; we estimate how long they spend inputting a query, viewing the search results, and how often they click on a search result. We also compare and contrast search patterns between 12-key keypad phones (cellphones), phones with QWERTY keyboards (PDAs) and conventional computers.
The Rotation-Vibration Coupling in Diatomic Molecules

A solution of the wave equation for the nuclear motion of a diatomic molecule with a Morse potential function and the rotational term included is given. The wave functions are found to have the same form as the functions obtained when the rotational term is neglected. The constants ${D}_{e}$ and ${\ensuremath{\alpha}}_{e}$ in the equations ${B}_{v}={B}_{e}\ensuremath{-}{\ensuremath{\alpha}}_{e}(v+\frac{1}{2}),$ ${D}_{v}={D}_{e}+{\ensuremath{\beta}}_{e}(v+\frac{1}{2}),$ are found to be given by the relations ${D}_{e}=\ensuremath{-}\frac{4{{B}_{e}}^{3}}{{{\ensuremath{\omega}}_{e}}^{2}}$ ${\ensuremath{\alpha}}_{e}=2{x}_{e}{B}_{e}(3{[\frac{{B}_{e}}{{x}_{e}{\ensuremath{\omega}}_{e}}]}^{\frac{1}{2}}\ensuremath{-}\frac{3{B}_{e}}{{x}_{e}{\ensuremath{\omega}}_{e}}),$ a result which can also be derived from Dunham's formulas. Eq. (2) differs from the corresponding relation in Kratzer's formula by the term in parenthesis. This term is fairly constant for a number of molecules and has an average value of 0.7\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}0.1 as was found empirically by Birge. The values of ${\ensuremath{\alpha}}_{e}$ given by (2) show satisfactory agreement with experimental values for many molecules.
Methadone and feeding : sources of differences between home cage and operant chamber assessment procedures

Methadone administration is reported to increase food intake in studies examining free feeding and to decrease food reinforced operant responding. In light of this apparent paradox, the present study evaluated methadone's effects on food reinforced operant responding under conditions more typical of free feeding studies than operant studies. The effect of methadone (5 mg/kg) on food intake was examined in rats maintained at 100% of their free feeding weights. Methadone did not increase food intake with food available under a fixed ratio 1 (FR 1) reinforcement schedule. Methadone did not alter response rate when each lever press produced a larger reinforcer (225 mg as opposed to 45 mg), but did increase food intake. When response requirements were changed from lever pressing to interruption of an infrared beam, increases in food intake following methadone administration were observed. Thus, the differences between methadone's effects on free feeding vs. operant chamber food intake may be due to procedural factors such as magnitude of reinforcement and response requirements.
Levodopa-carbidopa and childhood retinal disease

Abstract Purpose: Our purpose was to determine the influence of levodopa-carbidopa on visual function in children with retinal disease. Method: Two studies were undertaken, a single-dose study and a longitudinal dosing study. A double-masked, placebo controlled single-dose study was undertaken of levodopa-carbidopa (2.08 mg/kg of body weight levodopa with 25% carbidopa) on monocular visual acuity in 14 children with retinal disease. Subjects received two capsules approximately 2.5 hours apart, and monocular visual acuity was measured 2 hours after each capsule ingestion. The second study was a double-masked, placebo-controlled 12-week longitudinal dosing (0.62 mg/kg of body weight) crossover study in which subjects received levodopa-carbidopa for 6 weeks and placebo for 6 weeks. Results: The single-dose study revealed a small but statistically significant improvement in monocular visual acuity after levodopa-carbidopa ingestion. The longitudinal study revealed a small but statistically significant improvement in binocular visual acuity after levodopa ingestion. In both studies placebo had no significant effect on visual acuity. Six subjects participated in both studies and demonstrated a significant correlation ( r = 0.76, p Conclusion: The results are consistent with the hypothesis that dopamine influences the receptive field characteristics of retinal cells. The results also suggest that there may be low retinal dopamine levels in some types of retinal disease, which may be amenable to treatment.
Integral solution of unsteady full-potential equation for a transonic pitching airfoil

The unsteady full-potential equation formulation in a moving frame of reference has been has been developed and used to solve unsteady transonic flow problems. An unsteady integral-equation shock-capturing (IE-SC) scheme has been developed. The resulting unsteady IE-SC scheme is applied to a NACA 0012 airfoil undergoing a pitching oscillation. The numerical results are compared with those of an implicit, approximately factored, finite-volume Euler scheme. The present scheme is efficient in terms of the number of iterations as compared to the other existing schemes, which use finite-difference or finite-volume methods.
Neonatal exposure to endocrine active compounds or an ERβ agonist increases adult anxiety and aggression in gonadally intact male rats

Endocrine active compounds (EACs) have been shown to influence a number of reproductive endpoints but less is known about how they might affect other hormone dependent behaviors including anxiety and aggression. Recent evidence suggests that these effects may be mediated through the beta form of the estrogen receptor (ERbeta). Using male Long Evans rats, we sought to determine how neonatal exposure to EACs affects anxiety and aggression in adulthood. Anxiety was assessed using the elevated plus maze and aggression was assessed 8 weeks later using the resident intruder test. To gain insight into which ER subtype (ERalpha vs ERbeta) might be mediating these effects we used agonists specific for ERalpha (1,3,5-tris(4-Hydroxyphenyl)-4-propyl-1H-pyrazole (PPT)) or ERbeta (Diarylpropionitrile (DPN)) as additional treatment groups. For these experiments the synthetic EAC bisphenol-A (BPA) and the phytoestrogen metabolite equol (EQ) were used. Male neonates were injected with either 0.05 ml sesame oil (control), 50 microg estradiol benzoate (EB), 1 mg/kg DPN, 1 mg/kg PPT, 50 microg/kg BPA, or 10 mg/kg EQ daily for 4 days beginning on the day of birth (PND 0). Compared to the oil treated controls, significantly fewer open arm entries were made by the males neonatally treated with DPN, EQ, or BPA. The DPN and EQ treated males were also more aggressive compared to the controls. These findings suggest that neonatal exposure to EACs with agonistic activity on ERbeta may influence affective behavior in adulthood, including anxiety and aggression.
Association of Recurrent Candidal Vaginitis with Inheritance of Lewis Blood Group Antigens

A subset of women with candidal vulvovaginitis have no known risk factors for recurrent episodes. Although there are reports of an association of blood group antigens with various infections, no such association has been described with candidal vulvovaginitis. The ABO, P1, and Lewis group phenotypes of 35 women with recurrent vulvovaginitis but without other chronic infections were determined. These were compared with those of a control group of 40 women without a history of candidal vulvovaginitis. The distribution of ABO blood types and P blood group phenotype did not differ from those in controls. However, vulvovaginitis patients were more likely than controls to be classified as Le a -b- (X 2 = 6.4, 1 df, P =.011). Women without known predisposing factors may have a genetic predisposition to recurrent vulvovaginitis, as evidenced by a higher frequency of Le a -b- phenotype profiles compared with controls.
Paced Beats Following Single Nonsensed Complexes in a “Codependent” Cardioverter Defibrillator and Bradycardia Pacing System: Potential for Ventricular Tachycardia Induction

Patients with implantable defibrillators often require bradycardia pacemakers. Adverse interactions between separate defibrillator and bradycardia pacing units have occurred, including failure to detect ventricular fibrillation due to persistent bradycardia pacing during the arrhythmia. A device with combined bradycardia pacing and antitachycardia therapy capability may obviate adverse device interactions. We describe a previously unrecognized phenomenon that may occur in a combined device when the algorithms for sensing bradycardia and tachycardia are "codependent"; that is, the circuitry for brady- and tachyarrhythmia detection relies on the same automatic gain sense amplifier. Three of 37 patients in whom the device was implanted had ventricular tachycardia initiated when bradycardia pacing stimuli were delivered by the device after probable nonsensed sinus beats. In each case, nonsensed beats appeared to have a markedly diminished amplitude, occurred after ventricular premature depolarizations that produced large amplitude electrograms, and had an electrogram morphology that matched that of sinus rhythm. In each case, the bradycardia pacing interval was at least 1,200 msec (range 1,200 to 1,714 msec). In two of the three patients, large amplitude ventricular premature depolarizations or nonsustained ventricular tachycardia caused an adjustment of the gain control that potentiated the failure to sense the subsequent lower amplitude signal. In all three patients, the induced arrhythmia was rapidly terminated by pacing or cardioversion. Decreasing the bradycardia pacing interval by 110-514 msec has prevented recurrence during short-term follow-up. Our findings suggest that codependent bradycardia and antitachycardia devices may have their own unique potential difficulties in adapting to rapid changes in rate and signal amplitude.
Childhood acute lymphoblastic leukaemia and relapse

Acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (ALL) is the most common childhood cancer. Treatment has improved but relapsed ALL remains more common than new cases of many 'common' paediatric malignancies. We have salvage regimens with substantial complete remission (CR) rates and increasing access to haematopoietic stem cell transplantation, but most patients who relapse die. We need better therapies. Insights into pharmacology may guide more effective use of existing agents. Novel agents with activity against resistant lymphoblasts offer an appealing strategy. However, most candidate agents fail, despite enthusiastic investigators, intriguing mechanisms of action and 'compelling' preclinical data. A number of existing combinations provide a 40% complete response rate in second or third relapse. Yet survival in third remission is <10%. Novel agents must, most likely, be integrated into multiagent combinations that provide a higher CR rate or better quality CR's than our conventional combinations in order to contribute substantially to cure. The march from bench to bedside requires careful consideration of the intermediate steps.
Accounting for Derivatives and Hedging Activities: Comparison of Cash Flow versus Fair Value Hedge Accounting

Warfield Company is considering hedging the risk associated with (1) an available‐for‐sale (AFS) security portfolio and (2) an anticipated purchase of oil. Warfield's Board of Directors has limited experience in this area and has requested that you summarize the accounting and reporting implications if these items are hedged. The hedged risk in these two transactions can be either the risk associated with the cash flow or the risk associated with changes in the fair value. The two risks are discussed in separate parts of the case.
On the Competitive Effects of Bidding Syndicates

Firms commonly form syndicates to bid jointly for financial assets. Recently, this practice has come under legal scrutiny motivated by models which suggest syndicates are anti-competitive. These models do not account for two important features of financial markets: bidders' value estimates are likely to be correlated, and complicated mechanisms known to be optimal in such settings are usually eschewed in favor of simpler auction formats. We show that these features make it possible for syndicate bidding to generate higher revenues for the auctioneer than bidding among independent firms, even when syndicates are asymmetric or lead to a highly concentrated market. This occurs because syndication can make the industry more suitable to the simple auction format in use. We identify conditions under which syndicates are pro-competitive and discuss the implications for antitrust.
Combining Ondansetron and Naltrexone Effectively Treats Biologically Predisposed Alcoholics: From Hypotheses to Preliminary Clinical Evidence

Background Individuals considered to be early onset alcoholics (EOA) are characterized by an early onset age, a broad range of antisocial behaviors, high familial loading, and presumed biological disease predisposition. Ondansetron, a 5-HT3 antagonist, improves drinking outcomes and increases abstinence rates among EOA. Individuals with high familial loading for developing alcoholism have lower levels of beta-endorphin and demonstrate a more pronounced increase in beta-endorphin levels in response to alcohol administration compared with individuals who do not have alcoholic relatives. The propensity for naltrexone (a mu opioid antagonist) to reduce alcohol's rewarding effects and drinking in humans is greatest in individuals with high familial loading. Predicated on the added knowledge that 5-HT3 receptors may themselves mediate alcohol reward via activation of the endogenous opioid system, we hypothesized that the combination of ondansetron and naltrexone would act synergistically and would be an effective treatment in EOA. Methods We conducted an 8-week double-blind placebo controlled clinical trial in which 20 EOA were randomized to receive ondansetron (4 microg/kg twice a day) + naltrexone (25 mg twice a day) or placebo as an adjunct to weekly standardized group Cognitive Behavioral Therapy. Results At endpoint, subjects who received ondansetron + naltrexone (n = 10), compared with those who received placebo (n = 10), had fewer drinks/day (covariate adjusted mean 0.99 +/- 0.60 vs. 3.68 +/- 0.63; F1, 16 = 9.35,p = 0.008; effect size = 1.42), drinks/drinking day (covariate adjusted mean 3.14 +/- 0.87 vs. 6.76 +/- 0.71; F1, 13 = 10.45, p = 0.007; effect size = 1.71), and a trend toward increased percent days abstinent (covariate adjusted mean 69.76 +/- 8.64 vs. 48.24 +/- 9.12; F1, 16 = 3.58, p = 0.08; effect size = 0.88). Conclusions Ondansetron plus naltrexone seems to synergistically improve the drinking outcomes of EOA. Larger scale studies that test these medications, both alone and together, among various alcoholic subtypes are needed to establish and extend these promising findings.
Plant Location and the Advent of Slab Casting by U.S. Steel Minimills: An Observation‐Based Analysis

The advent of slab casting for steel produced in electric furnaces resulted in a wave of new investments in the construction of steel minimills. From 1989-2001, ten new plants were constructed in the United States based on new technologies. Some were built in established steel industry agglomerations while others were built in greenfield locations -- regions that had little or no prior steel making activity. This research brings new evidence to bear on location decisions concerning modern steel making. The findings reported are based on direct observation and plant visits related to all of the new mills created by these investments. While the analysis reinforces the importance of transfer costs in decision making, it also argues that critical locational elements cannot be fully understood, unless analysis takes account of specific product, plant, and firm
Adaptive tuning of fuzzy logic identifier for unknown non-linear systems

An on-line approximator using a linear fuzzy logic model with automatic tuning mechanism is presented in this paper. the proposed approximation method can be used to model a class of unknown non-linear systems as long as they are Caratheodory ones. the structure of the fuzzy model is fixed but the parameters are tuned by the state errors. the fuzzy model is composed of several semi-closed, continuous, totally ordered and well-defined fuzzy numbers defined in each state variable dimension and a number of appropriately defined condition-action rules. Either the min-inference or product-inference technique is utilized to generate the weighted average of the linear coefficients which make the whole unknown non-linear system piecewise linearized. No off-line preprocessing is needed. the initial values of the parameters of the fuzzy model can be arbitrarily assigned. Then they are tuned to their true values through adaptive update law and therefore it is guaranteed that the unknown non-linear system is linearized and approximated to any degree of accuracy by the linear fuzzy logic model.
Automatic symbolic compositional verification by learning assumptions

Compositional reasoning aims to improve scalability of verification tools by reducing the original verification task into subproblems. The simplification is typically based on assume-guarantee reasoning principles, and requires user guidance to identify appropriate assumptions for components. In this paper, we propose a fully automated approach to compositional reasoning that consists of automated decomposition using a hypergraph partitioning algorithm for balanced clustering of variables, and discovering assumptions using the L * algorithm for active learning of regular languages. We present a symbolic implementation of the learning algorithm, and incorporate it in the model checker NuSmv. In some cases, our experiments demonstrate significant savings in the computational requirements of symbolic model checking.
Production of clean pyrolytic sugars for fermentation.

This study explores the separate recovery of sugars and phenolic oligomers produced during fast pyrolysis with the effective removal of contaminants from the separated pyrolytic sugars to produce a substrate suitable for fermentation without hydrolysis. The first two stages from a unique recovery system capture “heavy ends”, mostly water-soluble sugars and water-insoluble phenolic oligomers. The differences in water solubility can be exploited to recover a sugar-rich aqueous phase and a phenolic-rich raffinate. Over 93 wt % of the sugars is removed in two water washes. These sugars contain contaminants such as low-molecular-weight acids, furans, and phenols that could inhibit successful fermentation. Detoxification methods were used to remove these contaminants from pyrolytic sugars. The optimal candidate is NaOH overliming, which results in maximum growth measurements with the use of ethanol-producing Escherichia coli.
Pre-estimation for better initial guesses

Fast, assured convergence of iterative identification methods is important in many on-line applications, including systems that exploit indirect measurements, diagnostics, and model-based control. The transient response of a system can often be mapped directly to an estimate of the system model parameters. This initial estimate, or pre-estimate, can be evaluated in fixed time and may greatly accelerate subsequent iterative system identification procedures. A pre-estimation structure is developed and demonstrated with examples including single-tone frequency estimation and induction motor parameter identification.
Challenges of Medical Home Transformation Reported by 118 Patient-Centered Medical Home (PCMH) Leaders

Background: Little is known about the most important organizational factors and strategies for transforming primary care clinics into patient-centered medical homes (PCMHs), so we studied this in newly certified medical homes in Minnesota. Methods: We collected the following information from the first 120 clinics serving adults to be certified: (1) a 105-item survey about the presence and function of practice systems now and 3 years ago; (2) standardized composite clinic performance measures for diabetes and cardiovascular disease; and (3) a 44-item survey about PCMH transformation derived from 31 qualitative interviews about barriers, facilitators, and change strategies with participants from 9 diverse clinics. Results: The response rates for the systems survey was 92.5% and was 98.3% for the survey about transformation. Nearly all the items from the qualitative interviews identified as potentially important for transformation were strongly endorsed. Eighteen items in this survey also correlated significantly (P = Conclusions: Many items in the survey about transformation seem to have face validity for leaders of certified PCMHs and to be associated with the extent to which their clinics have made systems changes. While clinics may need to find their own unique path to transformation, the items identified here should be considered in those decisions.
The impact of childhood activity limitations on parental health, mental health, and workdays lost in the United States.

Objective The aim of this study was to determine if and to what extent the onset and persistence of childhood activity limitations (ongoing, resolved, or newly reported) resulted in subsequent adverse health, mental health, and work attendance outcomes among parents in the United States. Methods A study was conducted using 10 panels (1996–2005) of the Medical Expenditure Panel Survey (MEPS), a household survey of a nationally representative sample of the civilian noninstitutionalized population in the United States. Participants in this study were 18 827 parents and their children aged 0 to 17 years. Results During the 2-year study period, 15.6% of parents reported caring for a child aged 0 to 17 years with a limitation. Parents of children with any activity limitation were significantly more likely to experience subsequent poor health and mental health. Parents of children with ongoing or newly reported limitations had an increased number of lost workdays as compared with parents of children without limitations. Moreover, caring for multiple children with activity limitations was predictive of adverse parental mental health outcomes. Parents of children with ongoing activity limitations had significantly increased odds of poor mental health compared with parents of children with resolved limitations. Conclusions Caring for a child with activity limitations affects the health, mental health, and work attendance of parents. These findings indicate that child health can importantly influence the health and work behavior of the family and that health care providers should consider a family-centered approach to care.
Defining the Interaction of the Treponema pallidum Adhesin Tp0751 with Laminin

Various invasive pathogens attach to host tissues via the extracellular matrix component laminin, the major glycoprotein found within basement membranes. Previous investigations identified the laminin-binding adhesin Tp0751 within the spirochete bacterium Treponema pallidum. In the current study, Tp0751 was shown to attach to a variety of laminin isoforms that are widely distributed throughout the host, including laminins 1, 2, 4, 8, and 10. Such universal attachment is conducive for an adhesin present within a highly invasive pathogen that encounters a variety of tissue sites during the course of infection. Additional studies systematically identified the amino acid residues within Tp0751 that contribute to laminin binding using synthetic peptides designed from the mature protein sequence. The minimum laminin-binding region of the adhesin was localized to 10 amino acids; peptides containing these residues inhibited attachment of Tp0751 and T. pallidum to laminin. Further, Tp0751-specific antibodies inhibited attachment of T. pallidum to laminin. This study furthers our knowledge of the interaction of T. pallidum with laminin, an association that is proposed to facilitate bacterial traversal of basement membranes and subsequent entry into the circulation and tissue invasion. As such, these investigations will reveal new targets for possible prevention of bacterial dissemination and establishment of chronic infection.
African American Women and Diabetes: A Sociocultural Context

Diabetes is the fourth leading cause of death among African American women. One in four black women (23.4 percent) older than age 55 has diabetes. In evaluating the experience of black women with diabetes, an understanding of their social context is essential. Resulting from historical and sociocultural factors, black women have relatively lower income and education levels and consequently, poorer health and restricted access to quality health care. In a sense, being black, female, elderly, and chronically ill places this group in quadruple jeopardy. Tackling the problem of diabetes among African American women is a public health priority and requires a multilevel approach.
Dimer saddle point searches to determine the reactivity of formate on Cu(111)

We used the dimer saddle point searching method with density functional theory calculations to study the reactivity of formate (HCOO) on the Cu(111) surface. We identified possible reaction paths for the HCOO decomposition (or synthesis) and hydrogenation in the presence of a co-adsorbed H atom without assuming their final states. Starting from the most stable bidentate HCOO adsorption configuration, we calculated the pre-exponential factors and reaction rates of the identified HCOO reaction and diffusion paths using harmonic transition state theory. In agreement with previous experimental and theoretical studies, we found that HCOO was formed by gaseous CO2 and adsorbed H through the Eley–Rideal (ER) mechanism. The activation barriers for direct HCOO synthesis from CO via the ER and Langmuir– Hinshelwood (LH) mechanisms were 1.44 and 2.45 eV, respectively, suggesting that the reaction pathways CO or CO(g) + OH ↔ HCOO were unfavorable on the Cu(111) surface. The decomposition of HCOO to HCO + O was much slower than its reverse recombination. This indicated that the reaction pathway from HCOO to HCO also was unlikely. On the other hand, the reaction route for HCOO hydrogenation to H2COO in the presence of a co-adsorbed H atom had an activation energy of 1.24 eV, suggesting that HCOO hydrogenation was competitive with HCOO decomposition via the ER mechanism with a barrier of 1.30 eV. Except for two fast HCOO diffusion processes, our results showed that HCOO ↔ CO2(g) + Ha nd HCOO + H ↔ H2COO were the dominant reaction pathways on the Cu(111) surface.
Meta-analysis of bacterial meningitis score validation studies

Objective The Bacterial Meningitis Score, a derived and validated clinical decision rule, identifies children with cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) pleocytosis who are at very low risk of bacterial meningitis. Low-risk features include the following: negative CSF Gram stain, CSF absolute neutrophil count (ANC) Methods A meta-analysis of all studies published between 2002 and 2012 was performed, evaluating the performance of the Bacterial Meningitis Score in children with CSF pleocytosis. Study quality was assessed using the assessment of diagnostic accuracy studies instrument and then the test performance of the prediction rule was calculated. Results From 8 studies, 5312 patients were identified, of whom 4896 (92%) had sufficient clinical data to calculate the Bacterial Meningitis Score. Bacterial meningitis was diagnosed in 1242 children (23% of study patients). The combined sensitivity of the Bacterial Meningitis Score for bacterial meningitis was 99.3% (1224/1233; 95% CI 98.7% to 99.7%), specificity 62.1% (2274/3663; 95% CI 60.5% to 63.7%) negative predictive value 99.7% (2274/2283, 95% CI 99.3% to 99.9%), positive likelihood ratio 2.6 (95% CI 2.5 to 2.7) and negative likelihood ratio 0.01 (95% CI 0.01 to 0.02). Conclusions The Bacterial Meningitis Score is a highly accurate clinical scoring system that could be used to assist clinical decision making for the management of children with CSF pleocytosis.
Attenuation of a human rotavirus vaccine candidate did not correlate with mutations in the NSP4 protein gene

The NSP4 protein of a simian rotavirus was reported to induce diarrhea following inoculation of mice. If NSP4 is responsible for rotavirus diarrhea in humans, attenuation of a human rotavirus may be reflected in concomitant mutations in the NSP4 gene. After 33 passages in cultured monkey kidney cells, a virulent human rotavirus (strain 89-12) was found to be attenuated in adults, children, and infants. Nucleotide sequence analysis of the NSP4 protein gene revealed only one base pair change between the virulent (unpassaged) and attenuated 89-12 viruses, which resulted from a substitution of alanine for threonine at amino acid 45 of the encoded NSP4 protein. Because both threonine and alanine have been found at position 45 of NSP4 in symptomatic and asymptomatic human rotaviruses, neither amino acid in this position could be established as a marker of virulence. Therefore, attenuation of rotavirus strain 89-12 appears to be unrelated to mutations in the NSP4 gene.
Deficiency of Bax and Bak protects photoreceptors from light damage in vivo

Photoreceptors of bax(-/-)bak(-/-) but neither bax(-/-) mice nor bak(-/-) mice are protected from developmental apoptosis, suggesting that bax(-/-)bak(-/-) photoreceptors may also be protected from pathologic apoptosis. To test this possibility, we exposed bax(-/-)bak(-/-) and bax(-/-) mice to bright light, which normally induces photoreceptor death. Photoreceptors in bax(-/-)bak(-/-) mice were protected from death compared to bax(-/-) mice as indicated by a reduction in the number of TUNEL-positive photoreceptor nuclei 24 h following light damage and almost complete preservation of photoreceptors 7 days following light damage. These results provide the first in vivo evidence that combined deficiency of Bax and Bak can rescue cells from a pathologic stimulus more effectively than Bax deficiency and suggest that combined deficiency of Bax and Bak may also protect cells from other insults.
Simulation in orthopaedic education: an overview of theory and practice.

“When was the last time your airline pilot crashed?” The usual response to that from non-aviation people is “I hope never!” However, the true answer is “Within the last six months... in a simulator.” For over two decades, the aviation industry has recognized that the only way to adequately train their pilots to react appropriately to critical emergencies, which occur infrequently, is to expose them to those emergencies in a simulated virtual reality environment. Not only is it less expensive than crashing real planes, but it permits complete control over the environment and provides the means to collect relevant data about what the pilot does for subsequent educational feedback. Ultimately, it is used for credentialing pilots to fly commercial airliners. The critical nature and time pressures attendant to surgical and medical procedures are similar to those faced by pilots. As physicians, the primary goal of our education is to provide the best, and safest, care to our patients. That there is room for improvement in patient-safety-oriented medical education has been recognized over the last decade1. Taking note of the evolution of training in aviation, one methodology that has been promoted as a way to improve medical education has been the use of simulation of medical environments and procedures1,2. In parallel with the aviation experience, simulation has been viewed as a mechanism to participate in the quality-improvement process that is required in medicine, both at an individual and institutional level. However, simulation has taken a longer time to assume a role in medical education. This was due in part to the expense of simulators and in part to the lack of realism in the simulations. Both of these issues have become solvable through the development of inexpensive high-performance computers. The initial computer-based simulators were limited …
Trip12, a HECT domain E3 ubiquitin ligase, targets Sox6 for proteasomal degradation and affects fiber type-specific gene expression in muscle cells

Background: A sophisticated level of coordinated gene expression is necessary for skeletal muscle fibers to obtain their unique functional identities. We have previously shown that the transcription factor Sox6 plays an essential role in coordinating muscle fiber type differentiation by acting as a transcriptional suppressor of slow fiber-specific genes. Currently, mechanisms regulating the activity of Sox6 in skeletal muscle and how these mechanisms affect the fiber phenotype remain unknown. Methods: Yeast two-hybrid screening was used to identify binding partners of Sox6 in muscle. Small interfering RNA (siRNA)-mediated knockdown of one of the Sox6 binding proteins, Trip12, was used to determine its effect on Sox6 activity in C2C12 myotubes using quantitative analysis of fiber type-specific gene expression. Results: We found that the E3 ligase Trip12, a HECT domain E3 ubiquitin ligase, recognizes and polyubiquitinates Sox6. Inhibiting Trip12 or the 26S proteasome activity resulted in an increase in Sox6 protein levels in C2C12 myotubes. This control of Sox6 activity in muscle cells via Trip12 ubiquitination has significant phenotypic outcomes. Knockdown of Trip12 in C2C12 myotubes led to upregulation of Sox6 protein levels and concurrently to a decrease in slow fiber-specific Myh7 expression coupled with an increased expression in fast fiber-specific Myh4. Therefore, regulation of Sox6 cellular levels by the ubiquitin-proteasome system can induce identity-changing alterations in the expression of fiber type-specific genes in muscle cells. Conclusions: Based on our data, we propose that in skeletal muscle, E3 ligases have a significant role in regulating fiber type-specific gene expression, expanding their importance in muscle beyond their well-established role in atrophy.
Exploring Digital Libraries: Foundations, Practice, Prospects by Karen Calhoun

Karen Calhoun is a 30-year veteran of the library profession and is currently the Assistant University Librarian of the University of Pittsburgh library system. She has provided a thoroughly resear...
Commensal ‘trail of bread crumbs’ provide pathogens with a map to the intestinal landscape

Growth of a microorganism in a host is essential for infection, and bacterial pathogens have evolved to utilize specific metabolites to enhance replication in vivo. Now, emerging data demonstrate that pathogens rely on microbiota-derived metabolites as a form of bacterial-bacterial communication to gain information about location within a host and modify virulence gene expression accordingly. Thus, metabolite-sensing is critical for pathogens to establish infection. Here, we highlight recent examples of how the foodborne pathogen enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli O157:H7 (EHEC) exploits microbiota-derived metabolites to recognize the host intestinal environment and control gene expression that results in controlled expression of virulence traits.
Working memory and spatial judgments: Cognitive load increases the central tendency bias

Previous work demonstrates that memory for simple stimuli can be biased by information about the category of which the stimulus is a member. Specifically, stimuli with values greater than the category’s average tend to be underestimated and stimuli with values less than the average are overestimated. This is referred to as the central tendency bias. This bias has been explained as an optimal use of both noisy sensory information and category information. In a largely separate literature, cognitive load experiments attempt to manipulate the available working memory of participants in order to observe its effect on choice or judgments. In three experiments, we demonstrate that participants under a high cognitive load exhibit a stronger central tendency bias than when under a low cognitive load. Although not anticipated at the outset, we also find that judgments exhibit an anchoring bias.
A property of Pisot numbers and Fourier transforms of self-similar measures

For any Pisot number β it is known that the set F(β) = {t: lim n→∞‖tβ n ‖ = 0} is countable, where ‖a‖ is the distance between a real number a and the set of integers. In this paper it is proved that every member in this set is of the form cβ −n , where n is a nonnegative integer and c is determined by a linear system of equations. Furthermore, for some self-similar measures µ associated with β, the limit at infinity of the Fourier transforms $$\lim _{n \to \infty } \hat \mu (t\beta ^n ) \ne 0$$ if and only if t is in a certain subset of F(β). This generalizes a similar result of Huang and Strichartz.
Unraveling the Biological Effects of Drug-Eluting Stents.

Intracoronary stent therapy for obstructive coronary atherosclerosis has come a long way since the first stent was developed in the 1980s. Although balloon angioplasty allowed percutaneous revascularization with a high degree of success, acute complications including flow-limiting dissections
Research about 3-Color, 2 Direction Mobile Automata

This paper studies 3-state, 2-direction Mobile Au- tomata. The results of this study show that although it is more difficult to find complexity in Mobile Automata than Cellular Automata, 3-color Mobile Automata can still be divided into four classes of complexity, thus pro- ducing complex behavior. There are 627 number of 3- color Mobile Automata, which were studied and filtered to prove the complexity of Mobile automata. The results of this study infer that it is possible to observe complex- ity in systems that contain only one active cell, if the system has more then two states.
Market Share Strategy: The Concept and the Evidence

The Fildes and Lofthouse comments provide the opportunity to clarify some important points in our article.