cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Phosphatidylethanol in Comparison to Self-Reported Alcohol Consumption Among HIV-Infected Women in a Randomized Controlled Trial of Naltrexone for Reducing Hazardous Drinking.

BACKGROUND Biomarkers can play a key role in supplementing self-report information in alcohol research. In this study, we examined phosphatidylethanol (PEth) in comparison with self-reported alcohol use over time in a randomized controlled trial. METHODS Participants were women living with HIV enrolled in a randomized placebo-controlled trial of naltrexone for reducing hazardous drinking. Drinking behavior was measured using Timeline Followback (TLFB), and PEth as a biomarker using dried blood spots. Data collected at baseline, and months 2 and 7 were analyzed. In addition to calculated Spearman's correlations, mixed-effects modeling was used to evaluate the changes in self-reported drinking and PEth, respectively, adjusting for body mass index (BMI). RESULTS A total of 194 participants (83% black, mean age 48) were included in the analysis. PEth levels were significantly correlated with self-reported drinking via TLFB, Spearman's r = 0.21 at baseline, r = 0.29 at 2 months, and r = 0.28 at 7 months, respectively. No demographic or health factors, except for BMI, was associated with whether self-report was consistent with PEth. Mixed-effects model indicated that self-reported drinking showed significantly greater reductions in the naltrexone treatment group than the placebo group at the 2- and 7-month visits, whereas PEth measure only showed this difference at the 7-month follow-up. CONCLUSIONS The magnitude of the correlation between PEth and self-reported alcohol consumption was small. Caution is needed when using either self-report or PEth as a sole outcome measure for alcohol behavior changes in clinical trials.
Binary extended formulations of polyhedral mixed-integer sets

We analyze different ways of constructing binary extended formulations of polyhedral mixed-integer sets with bounded integer variables and compare their relative strength with respect to split cuts. We show that among all binary extended formulations where each bounded integer variable is represented by a distinct collection of binary variables, what we call “unimodular” extended formulations are the strongest. We also compare the strength of some binary extended formulations from the literature. Finally, we study the behavior of branch-and-bound on such extended formulations and show that branching on the new binary variables leads to significantly smaller enumeration trees in some cases.
Qualitative vs. Quantitative Assessment of Security: A Panel Discussion

The reliability community strives to prevent bad things from happening by accident, while the security community aims to prevent bad things from happening through malice. It has been argued that, since dependability is the trustworthiness of a computer system to justify the reliance that can be placed on the service it delivers, security is an attribute of dependability. This would lead us to conjecture that the methods for assessing dependability could be applied to security. The question is, can the quantitative assessment techniques used by the reliability community be applied to the assessment of a system’s security, or is security a binary attribute: either you have it or you don’t?
TB drug susceptibility is more than MIC.

Genome-wide association studies and genetic analyses have identified a clinically prevalent alteration in the Mycobacterium tuberculosis genome that rewires bacterial propionate metabolism, conditionally reduces antibiotic killing without affecting minimum inhibitory concentrations, and may drive emergence of drug resistance.
The Healthy Weigh study of lottery-based incentives and environmental strategies for weight loss: Design and baseline characteristics

Identifying effective strategies for treating obesity is a clinical challenge and a public health priority. The present study is an innovative test of the relative effectiveness of lottery-based financial incentives and environmental strategies on weight loss and maintenance. The Healthy Weigh study is evaluating the comparative effectiveness of behavioral economic financial incentives and environmental strategies, separately and together, in achieving initial weight loss and maintenance of weight loss, in obese urban employee populations. Healthy Weigh is a multi-site, 4-arm randomized controlled trial (RCT) in which 344 employed participants were randomized to one of four arms. The study arms are: 1) standard employee wellness benefits and weigh-ins every 6 months (control arm/usual care); and the control/usual care plus either: 2) daily lottery incentives tied to achievement of weight loss goals (incentive arm); 3) individually tailored environmental strategies around food intake and physical activity (environmental arm); or 4) a combination of incentives and environmental strategies (combined arm). This trial used a web-based platform to enroll, communicate with, and track participant weight change. Wireless scales were used by participants in the three treatment group arms to digitally transmit daily/weekly weights. For females, the baseline median (interquartile range, IQR) for BMI and weight were 37.0 (33.5, 40.6) and 219.9 (198.1, 248.6), respectively; and for males, they were 36.0 (32.8, 39.8) and 247.9 (228.1, 279.5), respectively. The population was generally well-educated. This study demonstrated that multi-site employee-based recruitment for a weight-control intervention study is feasible but may need additional time for coordination between diverse environments.
Randomised controlled trial of incentives to improve online survey completion among internet-using men who have sex with men

Background HIV prevention research often involves the use of online surveys as data collection instruments. Incomplete responses to these surveys can introduce bias. We aimed to develop and assess innovative methods to incentivise respondents to complete surveys. Methods Adult men who have sex with men (MSM) living in the USA were recruited through banner advertisements on Facebook from 27 April 2015 to 6 May 2015 to participate in an online survey about HIV prevention and risk behaviours. Participants were randomised to one of four conditions: a monetary incentive; a series of altruistic messages highlighting the importance of participating in research; access to a dashboard comparing their responses with statistics from other participants after completion; and no incentive. Kaplan-Meier survival methods and univariate Cox proportional hazard models were used to evaluate survey dropout by incentive group and demographic variables of interest. Results There were a total of 1178 participants randomised to the four treatment groups. The rate of survey dropout among participants in the altruistic (HR=0.68, 95% CI 0.49 to 0.93), monetary (HR=0.44, 95% CI 0.32 to 0.61) and dashboard (HR=0.78, 95% CI 0.58 to 1.06) groups was lower than the non-incentivised control group. Regardless of condition, survey dropout was also lower among MSM aged 28–34 (HR=0.67, 95% CI 0.50 to 0.90) compared with those aged 18–22 years old, and MSM who were white (HR=0.78, 95% CI 0.60 to 1.02) compared with non-white participants. Conclusion Monetary incentives and altruistic messaging can improve survey completion in online behavioural HIV prevention research among MSM. Trial registration number NCT02139566.
Solitary sclerosis presenting as isolated spontaneous paroxysmal dysarthria

Paroxysmal dysarthria and ataxia (PDA) is a rare syndrome characterized by brief, stereotyped episodes of slurred speech, clumsiness with extremities, or vertigo. It is usually observed in young patients suffering from multiple sclerosis with numerous lesions. PDA is challenging to identify in those presenting with atypical patterns. Here, a non-ataxic variant of PDA in an otherwise neurologically healthy elderly man is presented who had a single midbrain lesion. A broad diagnostic workup illustrates the challenges of identifying PDA. Teaching points emphasize the significance of the midbrain lesion and response to anti-epileptic medication.
Linear Accelerator-Based Radiotherapy Simulation Using On-Board Kilovoltage Cone-Beam Computed Tomography for 3-Dimensional Volumetric Planning and Rapid Treatment in the Palliative Setting

Background:Palliation of advanced disease using radiotherapy can create difficult clinical situations where standard computed tomography simulation and immobilization techniques are not feasible. W...
English professional football players concussion knowledge and attitude.

Abstract Background Concussions are a common pathology in football and multiple misconceptions exist amongst the players and managers. To address these misconceptions, and potentially reduce concussion associated sequela, effective educational interventions need to be developed. However, the current knowledge and attitude status must be ascertained to appropriately develop these interventions. The purpose of this study was to assess the concussion knowledge and attitude of English professional footballers. Methods Twenty-six participants from one English Football League Championship club completed the study. A mixed methods approach included the Rosenbaum Concussion Knowledge and Attitudes Survey (RoCKAS) and a semi-structured interview. The RoCKAS contains separate knowledge (0–25) and attitude (15–75) scores and was followed by a semi-structured interview consisting of concussion knowledge, attitude, and behavior related questions. Results The mean score on the RoCKAS knowledge was 16.4 ± 2.9 (range 11–22) and the attitude score was 59.6 ± 8.5 (range 41–71). The interview responses identified inconsistencies between the RoCKAS and the intended behaviors, endorsing multiple concussion misconceptions, and revealed barriers to concussion reporting. Conclusion The results of this study suggest that Championship Level English footballers have moderate concussion knowledge, safe attitudes, and good concussion symptom recognition when assessed with pen and paper questionnaires. However, within the semi-structured interview many respondents reported unsafe concussion behaviors despite accurately identifying the potential risks. Further, multiple barriers to concussion reporting were identified which included perceived severity of the injury, game situations, and the substitution rule. These findings can help form the foundation of educational interventions to potentially improve concussion reporting behaviors amongst professional footballers.
Orally administered antifungal therapy for experimental keratomycosis.

Abstract Fluconazole, an experimental azole antifungal agent with good tissue penetration following oral administration, offers the possibility of a new approach to the treatment of keratomycosis. Its efficacy as an orally administered agent was investigated in two models of experimental fungal infection in Dutch-belted rabbits. The study proceeded in three stages. In the first, a model of keratitis due to Aspergillus fumigatus was developed, the suitability of quantitative isolate recovery techniques for the evaluation of the disease caused by this organism was confirmed, and the correlation between the severity of clinical disease scored nonparametrically and the isolate recovery rate was established. The model was found to be most useful for study during the first 5 days of infection. The natural course of experimental Candida alibcans keratitis was evaluated and, on the basis of quantitative isolate recovery techniques, this model was found to be appropriate for studies lasting up to 1 week. In the second stage, corneal uptake following oral administration of fluconazole was studied in Dutch-belted rabbits. The drug was found to readily penetrate the cornea in amounts that correlated with serum levels (R = 0.89). Eight hours following a single 20 mg/kg dose, the corneal level was 7.4 mg/gm, almost double the amount when a 10 mg/kg dose was administered. When given in a twice daily divided dose, fluconazole accumulated steadily in the corneas over a period of 5 days. The presence of inflammation induced by fungal infection did not influence corneal uptake. In the final stage, the efficacy of orally administered fluconazole in the treatment of keratomycosis was evaluated. Overall, a significant therapeutic effect was observed with both infections. Treatment of the animals with oral fluconazole for 1 day prior to inoculation with Candida albicans led to a significant decrease in isolate recovery 1 day later (P = 0.01). However, when treatment was continued for 5 days following inoculation, no additive effect of pretreatment was noted. Pretreatment for 1 day followed by 5 days postinoculation treatment led to a significant decrease in clinical disease (P less than 0.05) and isolate recovery (P = 0.05). A beneficial effect of pretreatment compared to treatment begun 1 day postinoculation, as measured by a reduction in clinical severity and isolate recovery, was also noted. On the basis of these short-term therapeutic studies and the excellent corneal penetration of fluconazole, further investigation of oral therapy of keratomycosis appears warranted.
Equivalency Between Circuit and Field Theories for Describing Pulse Propagation in a Coaxial Cable

A detailed analysis is conducted to describe the propagation of a step pulse along a coaxial cable of circular cross section. The geometry is chosen for two reasons: its obvious practical importance, and the fact that it can be analyzed in a simple and exact manner. The propagation of electromagnetic energy along a transmission line (of which the coaxial cable is a particular example) has led to controversy which has its roots in a misunderstanding of the physical phenomenon, namely in the confusion between the velocity of propagation of a signal and the speed of conduction electrons along the line, resulting in the absurd statement that electric charges cannot exist. This erroneous conclusion has been debunked by several researchers, see e.g. [1], [2]. Nevertheless, it is instructive to revisit the issue utilizing the simple geometry considered herein, which is done in the first part of this work by examining in detain the physical phenomenon of propagation of a step pulse along the cable.
Understanding Legal Meaning through Word Embeddings

For judges and legal scholars, the quest for meaning and the identification of methods appropriate for understanding word meaning animates volumes upon volumes of debate. Likewise, social scientists interested in studying the law have increasingly recognized the variations in choices over words as important barometers for understanding the law. In this paper, I suggest recent advances in computational linguistics -- notably, the efficient estimation of distributed representations of word meanings, or word embeddings -- offer a potentially transformative avenue by which to assess the strategy, choice, and impact of judicial language. Utilizing a corpus of more than one million federal and state appellate court decisions, I estimate word embeddings for the more than 400,000 most common words found in legal opinions. In a series of simple illustrations, I demonstrate the value of this treatment of word meaning for new avenues of law and politics research.
Characterizing calcinosis cutis in a pediatric population.

Background/objectives Calcinosis cutis is the abnormal deposition of calcium in the skin and subcutis. There is currently a paucity of data surrounding pediatric calcinosis cutis. The objective of this study is to characterize calcinosis cutis in a pediatric cohort. Methods A single-institution retrospective cohort study was performed over a 5.5-year period. Results Thirty cases were identified. Calcinosis cutis was found to be more common in men (63%), with a younger median age of onset (5 years) compared to women (10 years). Dystrophic calcinosis cutis (43%) was the most common type in the study population, though idiopathic calcinosis cutis (37%) was nearly as common. No cases of metastatic calcinosis cutis were found. Conclusions The etiology of calcinosis cutis in the study population was found to be similar to that identified in adults with the exception of metastatic calcinosis cutis, which was not seen in our cohort. Previous recommendations using laboratory testing to diagnose this disease process might not be as critical as previously thought.
ASPERGILLUS MYCOTIC PSEUDOANEURYSM AND SYSTEMIC EMBOLI: A RARE COMPLICATION FOLLOWING CARDIOTHORACIC SURGERY

Aspergillus mycotic infection of the aorta is extremely rare after cardiothoracic surgery. It presents with subtle constitutional symptoms and may mimic endocarditis or vasculitis. A 68-year-old male with well-controlled diabetes, coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) 9 months prior, subacute left
Dynamic Computation Offloading and Resource Allocation for Multi-user Mobile Edge Computing

We study the problem of dynamic computation offloading and resource allocation in mobile edge computing (MEC) systems consisting of multiple mobile users (MUs) with stochastic task arrivals and wireless channels. Each MU can execute its task either locally or remotely in an MEC server. The objective is to identify the optimum scheduling scheme that can minimize the long-term average weighted sum of energy consumption and delay of all MUs, under the constraints of limited transmission power per MU and limited computation resources at the MEC server. The optimum design is performed with respect to three decision parameters: whether to offload a given task, how much transmission power to be allocated for offloading, and how much MEC resources to be allocated for an offloaded task. We propose to solve the problem by developing a dynamic scheduling strategy based on deep reinforcement learning (DRL) with deep deterministic policy gradient (DDPG). Simulation results show that the proposed algorithm outperforms other existing strategies such as deep Q-network (DQN).
Metformin use and respiratory outcomes in asthma-COPD overlap.

Metformin is associated with improved respiratory outcomes in asthma; however, metformin in COPD and asthma-COPD overlap (ACO) remains unexplored. To determine the association between metformin use and respiratory outcomes in COPD and ACO. Participants with COPD (FEV1/FVC < 0.70) in the Genetic Epidemiology of COPD study (COPDGene®) were categorized as ACO (n = 510), defined as concurrent physician-diagnosed asthma before age 40 years, or COPD alone (n = 3459). We estimated the association of baseline metformin use with (1) rate of total and severe respiratory exacerbations during follow-up, (2) cross-sectional St. George’s Respiratory Questionnaire (SGRQ) score, six-minute walk distance (6MWD), and post-bronchodilator FEV1 percent predicted (FEV1pp), and (3) 5-year change in SGRQ, 6MWD, and FEV1pp. We also examined change in SGRQ, 6MWD and FEV1pp among participants who initiated metformin during follow-up (n = 108) compared to persistent metformin non-users (n = 2080). Analyses were adjusted for sociodemographic factors, medications, and comorbidities. Among participants with ACO, metformin use was associated with lower rate of total (adjusted incidence rate ratio [aIRR] 0.3; 95% confidence interval [95%CI] 0.11, 0.77) and severe exacerbations (aIRR 0.29; 95%CI 0.10, 0.89). Among participants with COPD alone, there was no association between metformin use with total (aIRR 0.98; 95%CI 0.62, 1.5) or severe exacerbations (aIRR 1.3; 95% CI 0.68, 2.4) (p-interaction < 0.05). Metformin use was associated with lower baseline SGRQ score (adjusted mean difference [aMD] − 2.7; 95%CI − 5.3, − 0.2) overall. Metformin initiation was associated with improved SGRQ score (aMD –10.0; 95% CI − 18.7, − 1.2) among participants with ACO but not COPD alone (p-interaction < 0.05). There was no association between metformin use and 6MWD or FEV1pp in any comparison. Metformin use was associated with fewer respiratory exacerbations and improved quality of life among individuals with ACO but not COPD alone. Results suggest a potential role for metformin in ACO which requires further prospective study. Trial Registry: NCT00608764
All-in-one conformal epidermal patch for multimodal biosensing

A conformal, stretchable, and integrated epidermal patch is developed to simultaneously monitor biophysical and biochemical signals via an all-in-one design. Ultrasonic transducers are used to monitor cardiovascular status of blood pressure and heart rate from the carotid artery, and electrochemical sensors are used to detect biomarker levels of lactate, caffeine, and alcohol from sweat and glucose from interstitial fluid. The counteracting and synergistic effects of exercise, alcohol intake, food intake, and caffeine intake on cardiovascular parameters, and the continuous and dynamic physiological monitoring are also experimentally validated.
Timing of Proteasome Inhibition for Prevention of Muscle Contractures in Neonatal Brachial Plexus Injury

Background: Neonatal brachial plexus injury (NBPI) causes disabling and incurable contractures, or limb stiffness, which result from proteasome-mediated protein degradation impairing the longitudinal growth of neonatally denervated muscles. We recently showed in a mouse model that the 20S proteasome inhibitor, bortezomib, prevents contractures after NBPI. Given that contractures uniquely follow neonatal denervation, the current study tests the hypothesis that proteasome inhibition during a finite window of neonatal development can prevent long-term contracture development. Methods: We used a mouse model of NBPI in which neonatal forelimb denervation at P5 causes shoulder and elbow contractures 4 weeks post-denervation. We first outlined the minimum period for proteasome inhibition to prevent contractures 4 weeks post-NBPI by treating mice with saline or bortezomib for varying durations between P8 and P32. We then compared the ability of varying durations of longer-term proteasome inhibition to prevent contractures at 8 and 12 weeks post-NBPI. Elbow and shoulder contractures, elbow flexor muscle length, and proteasome catalytic subunit activity were assessed. Findings: Proteasome inhibition can be delayed 3-4 days after denervation but is required throughout skeletal growth to prevent contractures long-term. Proteasome inhibition becomes less effective in preventing contractures beyond the neonatal period. The therapeutic effect of bortezomib is associated with attenuation of 20S proteasome β1 subunit activity. Interpretation: Temporary neonatal proteasome inhibition does not prevent contractures long-term. Instead, neonatal denervation causes a permanent longitudinal growth deficiency that must be continuously ameliorated during skeletal growth. Additional mechanisms must be explored to reduce the risk of toxicity from long-term proteasome inhibition. Funding Statement: This work was supported by grants to RC from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) (R01HD098280-01) and Pediatric Orthopaedic Society of North America (POSNA), as well as funding from the Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Division of Orthopaedic Surgery and Junior Cooperative Society. Declaration of Interests: The authors have declared that no conflict of interest exists. Ethics Approval Statement: This study was performed in strict accordance with the recommendations in the Guide for the Care and Use of Laboratory Animals of the National Institutes of Health. All mice were handled according to approved institutional animal care and use committee (IACUC) protocols (#2017-0084) of the Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center. All surgeries were performed under isoflurane anesthesia, and every effort was made to minimize suffering.
Deciphering the species-level structure of topologically associating domains

Chromosome conformation capture technologies such as Hi-C have revealed a rich hierarchical structure of chromatin, with topologically associating domains (TADs) as a key organizational unit, but experimentally reported TAD architectures, currently determined separately for each cell type, are lacking for many cell/tissue types. A solution to address this issue is to integrate existing epigenetic data across cells and tissue types to develop a species-level consensus map relating genes to TADs. Here, we introduce the TAD Map, a bag-of-genes representation that we use to infer, or "impute", TAD architectures for those cells/tissues with limited Hi-C experimental data. The TAD Map enables a systematic analysis of gene coexpression induced by chromatin structure. By overlaying transcriptional data from hundreds of bulk and single-cell assays onto the TAD Map, we assess gene coexpression in TADs and find that expressed genes cluster into fewer TADs than would be expected by chance, and show that time-course and RNA velocity studies further reveal this clustering to be strongest in the early stages of cell differentiation; it is also strong in tumor cells. We provide a probabilistic model to summarize any scRNA-seq transcriptome in terms of its TAD activation profile, which we term a TAD signature, and demonstrate its value for cell type inference, cell fate prediction, and multimodal synthesis. More broadly, our work indicates that the TAD Map9s comprehensive, quantitative integration of chromatin structure and scRNA-seq data should play a key role in epigenetic and transcriptomic analyses. Software availability: https://tadmap.csail.mit.edu
Chaotic Processes in Astronomical Data

This paper reviews techniques that have been developed to detect and model chaotic processes in time series data, summarizes, applications of these methods in astronomy, and makes some recommendations for an approach to chaotic time series analysis.
Incorporation of 3H-uridine and 3H-uracil into RNA: a simple technique for the detection of mycoplasma contamination of cultured cells.

Abstract The decreased incorporation of exogenous uridine and increased incorporation of exogenous uracil into RNA is the basis of a simple technique for the detection of mycoplasma contamination of cultured cells. Parallel cell cultures were incubated 18 h with 3H-uridine or 3H-uracil and the ratio of the specific activities of 3H-uridine labeled RNA to 3H-uracil labeled RNA ( UdR U ) was determined. Values of 400 or above were found in uncontaminated cultures, while values of 100 or below were observed in infected cultures. UdR U determinations were not significantly altered by the cell concentration, incubation time, the presence of common anti-mycoplasma drugs, or by the batch, concentration or age of the fetal calf serum supplement.
Encountering Hindutva, interrogating religious nationalism and (En)gendering a Hindu patriarchy in India's nuclear policies

Abstract This article explores the consequences of a gendered nationalism under India's recent Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government that has relied on the discourses of Hindu women's violence and protection as elements of its discursive arsenal to pursue nuclearization as an aggressive policy of the Indian state. To this extent, the article interrogates a discursive relationship between a cultural patriarchy, its quest for Hindu nationalism and gender and the ways in which this patriarchy has both used and (ab)used the images of Hindu women to establish Islam/Pakistan as a threat to the supposedly Hindu India, and justify a nuclear policy for India. The article's contribution to international feminist politics lies in its attempts to stitch the localized politics of Hindu nationalism with its broader geo-political aspirations and implications, namely the role of the Indian state, under the BJP, in maintaining a communalized, militarized and a Hindu patriarchal violence at three inter-connected levels –...
Postmortem Intervals in Mice Submerged in Aqueous Environments at 20°C.

Aqueous submersion can impede decay and produce decomposition stages not seen in terrestrial burials. To further understand the variances, fifty-four mice were submerged in freshwater, marine water, and a control environment at 20°C. The mice displayed sequential stages at differing rates over 6 weeks. Regression plots and comparative t-tests demonstrated that internal putrefaction, weight difference, and abdominal circumference of the aqueous environments varied significantly from the control group. The aqueous subjects did not vary significantly from each other quantitatively. The postmortem intervals were not consistent regardless of temperature or environment although a clear variance was noted between the control and the submerged groups.
Five‐Year Risk of Mechanical Ventilation in Community‐Dwelling Adults: The Framingham–Intermountain Anticipating Life Support Study

Objectives To develop a quantitative tool for identifying outpatients most likely to require life support with mechanical ventilation within 5 years. Design Retrospective cohort study. Setting Framingham Heart Study (FHS) 1991 to 2009 and Intermountain Healthcare clinics 2008 to 2013. Participants FHS participants (n = 3,666; mean age 74; 58% female) in a derivation cohort and Intermountain Healthcare outpatients aged 65 and older (n = 88,302; mean age 73, 57% female) in an external validation cohort. Measurements Information on demographic characteristics and comorbidities collected during FHS examinations to derive a 5-year risk score for receiving mechanical ventilation in an intensive care unit, with external validation using administrative data from outpatients seen at Intermountain Healthcare. A sensitivity analysis investigating model performance for a composite outcome of mechanical ventilation or death was performed. Results Eighty (2%) FHS participants were mechanically ventilated within 5 years after a FHS examination. Age, sex, diabetes mellitus, hypertension, atrial fibrillation, alcohol use, chronic pulmonary disease, and hospitalization within the prior year predicted need for mechanical ventilation within 5 years (c-statistic = 0.74, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 0.68–0.80). One thousand seven hundred twenty-five (2%) Intermountain Healthcare outpatients underwent mechanical ventilation. The validation model c-statistic was 0.67 (95% CI = 0.66–0.68). Approximately 1% of individuals identified as low risk and 5% to 12% identified as high risk required mechanical ventilation within 5 years. Sensitivity analysis demonstrated a c-statistic of 0.75 (95% CI = 0.75–0.75) for risk prediction of a composite outcome of mechanical ventilation or death. Conclusion A simple risk score using clinical examination data or administrative data may be used to predict 5-year risk of mechanical ventilation or death. Further study is necessary to determine whether use of a risk score enhances advance care planning or improves quality of care of older adults.
Influence of fabrication techniques on gallium arsenide switch photoconductivity

Photoconductivity of copper compensated, silicon doped GaAs (GaAs:Si:Cu) which is used as a bulk optically controlled semiconductor switch (BOSS) material is studied. Copper is diffused into GaAs:Si using a spin-on dopant source (Cu-doped silicon dioxide), and a leaky tube diffusion system for annealing. The switch photoconductivity is compared to that of samples processed using closed tube diffusion systems, where the Cu source for diffusion is a Cu film deposited by thermal evaporation on one surface of the GaAs wafer. High efficiency switch material is obtained by using the leaky tube technique and low power semiconductor laser is used as the excitation source for the switch photoconductivity measurements.© (1993) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.
Link resource allocation for maximizing the rigidity of multi-agent formations

In this paper, the problem of optimizing the rigidity of multi-agent formations is formulated and solved using convex optimization methods. Two rigidity indices, the worst-case rigidity index (WRI) and the mean rigidity index (MRI), are proposed to measure the rigidity of formations of multiple agents connected by links with adjustable strengths. Under the assumption of limited total link resources, we develop efficient algorithms that can find the optimal allocation of link resources for maximizing the rigidity indices. Furthermore, through a sensitivity analysis of the optimization problems, the significance (priorities) of the different links are also characterized. Some simulations results are presented.
Organizational Responses to Social Policy: The Case of Welfare Reform

I argue that worker-client relations and their consequences are the actual manifestation of people changing policies. A theoretical framework is presented to explain the path from the policy to its outcomes, which includes the policy design, the institutional and political economy of the local community in which the policy is implemented, the strategic choices made by the organization, the responses and adaptations of the workers, and the resulting worker-client relations and their consequences. The framework is applied to the implementation of welfare reform, demonstrating why there is an inherent disjuncture between the policy design and the actual organizational practices.
Democracy promotion, authoritarian resiliency, and political unrest in Iran

This article argues that recent de-democratization in Iran can be best understood by analysing the interplay of domestic Iranian politics and two external developments. These were the colour revolutions in several post-communist states and the hostile US policies toward Iran after the invasion of Iraq in 2003. Together they generated a political climate in Iran conducive to hardliner attempts to discredit and neutralize the reformist opposition. The regime tried to delegitimize the opposition by portraying it as being in the service of foreign elements and claiming it was seeking to foment a popular uprising. The consequences were twofold. On the one hand, the regime's identification of civic and political activism as threats to national security greatly reduced the manoeuvrability of the reformist opposition and contributed to their marginalization. These developments point to the limits and unintended consequences of democracy promotion in Iran. On the other hand, the post-electoral protests of 2009 exp...
Orientation and Motion of Tryptophan Interfacial Anchors in Membrane-Spanning Peptides†

The tryptophans of integral membrane proteins have been suggested to play specific roles as “interfacial anchors”, based on their preference for a location near the lipid head groups. Still, the underlying mechanism behind this behavior remains unclear. NMR experiments can provide an important tool to study this interaction in an actual bilayer environment. Here solid-state deuterium nuclear magnetic resonance was used to study the tryptophans in membrane-spanning model peptides from the WALP family (acetyl-GWW(LA)nWWA-ethanolamide with n = 5 and 6.5) in samples of mechanically aligned dimyristoylphosphatidylcholine (DMPC) bilayers. The data indicate that the tryptophans near the C-terminal end of the peptide display a significantly different behavior from those near the N-terminus. This is reflected prominently in a large difference in the motion experienced by the indoles at either end of the peptide, highlighting the directionality of the helix. Nevertheless, our observations indicate high levels of mo...
A workstation interface for measuring interspike intervals.

Abstract A method is presented for collecting and storing, singly or in parallel, interspike intervals to a DOS-based workstation as a background process. The method comprises digital electronics and low-level software effecting an interface mechanism from the receipt of digital spike pulses to the recording of user-accessible data arrays readily manipulable by high-level software. Functional details, requirements, and application to parietal cortex single unit physiology are discussed.
Two-photon absorption in semiconductors with picosecond laser pulses

Single pulses from a well-calibrated mode-locked YAlG:Nd laser have been used to measure the two-photon absorption coefficient at 1.064 \ensuremath{\mu}m in several semiconductors. The materials studied are four direct-gap semiconductors, GaAs, CdTe, ZnTe, and CdSe, and one indirect-gap semiconductor, GaP. The results for the direct-gap semiconductors are interpreted with respect to the imaginary part of the third-order nonlinear susceptibility ${\ensuremath{\chi}}_{1111}^{(3)}(\ensuremath{-}\ensuremath{\omega},\ensuremath{\omega},\ensuremath{\omega},\ensuremath{-}\ensuremath{\omega})$. An anisotropy of the two-photon absorption coefficient is observed in GaAs.
Temporal and spatial patterns in emergence and early survival of perennial plants in the Sonoran Desert

Seedling emergence and survival of 15 perennial species were studied for six years in a 557-m2 permanent plot at Tumamoc Hill, Arizona, USA, an ungrazed site in the northern Sonoran Desert. The minimum rain required for germination and emergence ranged from 17.5 to 35.6 mm. Few species emerged in every year of the study. First-year survival averaged across all 15 species was 3.7%; only 0.1% of seedlings lived as long as four years. The odds of survival in the first year improved with increased rain. About three times as many seedlings died from predation as desiccation. In 2-m2 subplots, mortality of three woody species in the first 30 days after emergence appeared to be independent of seedling density. Short-, moderate-, and long-lived species displayed distinct survival strategies. Long-lived species compensated for generally poor seedling survival by frequent germination and emergence. Moderate-lived species exhibited highly episodic germination and emergence, a potentially risky behavior that might have been offset to some extent by relatively good long-term survival. Short-lived species had the highest seedling survival. Because these species can bloom in their first year, good early survival meant that some individuals were able to reproduce before they died.
Delayed control of a hairy vetch (Vicia villosa Roth) cover crop in irrigated corn production

Abstract Although a hairy vetch ( Vicia villosa Roth) cover crop can supply nitrogen and suppress weeds, corn planting in central Illinois must be delayed past optimum planting dates to realize significant benefits from this cover crop. As an alternative to delayed planting, controlling a band of hairy vetch over corn rows followed by a sequential treatment between the rows may allow for increased vegetative growth and greater weed suppression. Vetch between the rows provided greater than 80% weed control if allowed to grow for at least four weeks. These treatments, however, reduced corn height by approximately 20%. If hairy vetch between the rows was controlled within 2 weeks of planting, it did not appear to adversely affect crop growth.
A structure-function correlation for fatty acids inSaccharomyces cerevisiae

Abstract A relationship which distinguishes those fatty acids that support the growth of oxygen-deprived Saccharomyces cerevisiae from those that do not was found. To function properly, a long chain of saturated carbon atoms appears to require interruption by an appropriate chemical group such that only a maximum number of contiguous saturated carbon atoms is present anywhere in the chain. A double bond was found to serve as an interrupting group, and for 19 cis -unsaturates studied, ranging from C 14:1 -Δ 9 to C 22:6 -Δ 4,7,10,13,16,19 , the number of saturated C atoms was 9. The chain length and the position and number of double bonds had no influence in determining whether the acids were active or inactive except as these structural features related to the interruption rule. Although less extensively examined, a hydroxyl group or trans -double bond also appeared to act as an interrupting group with allowed numbers of 9 and 7, respectively, for saturated C atoms. Oxygen deprivation did not result in a shift to shorter chain length of the saturates formed, and the presence of unsaturates did not prevent biosynthesis of saturates.
Configuration of actin microfilaments during sporangium development in Achlya bisexualis : comparison of two staining protocols

The spatial organization of actin microfilaments during the asexual life cycle ofAchlya bisexualis has been examined by two methods. One is the standard procedure described by Heath [Eur J Cell Biol (1987) 44: 10–16], in which specimens are fixed with formaldehyde and then stained with rhodamine-phalloidin. In the other, introduced by Sonobe and Shibaoka [Protoplasma (1989) 148: 80–86], specimens are treated with the protein crosslinking agent MBS (m-maleimidobenzoyl-N-hydroxysuccinimide) before fixation and staining. Both methods display the actin-rich cleavage zones that outline the developing zoospores. However, in extending hyphae and young sporangia the images are significantly different. Specimens pretreated with MBS display more prominent axial microfilament cables than do standard specimens, while peripheral actin plaques are sparse or absent. The results suggest that actin microfilaments occur in several configurations, some of which may be obscured by the standard fixation procedure. Pretreatment with MBS, though probably subject to artefacts of its own, may help preserve some features that would otherwise be missed.
C30 Stationary phases for the analysis of food by liquid chromatography

The introduction of a polymeric C30 liquid chromatographic column by Sander et al. [Anal. Chem., 66 (1994) 1667] designed for the separation of carotenoid isomers, has led to the development of improved analytical methods for these compounds. Subsequent commercial availability of polymerically bonded C30 columns has facilitated these advances, and applications to a wide variety of separation problems with biological samples have been described. This report provides a comprehensive review of applications of polymeric C30 columns, utilized in the determination of carotenoids, retinoids, and other nutrients and related compounds in complex, natural-matrix samples.
Simulation of Heat Transfer With LBM and Lagrangian Methods for Microfluidic Applications

This work presents a Lagrangian approach to simulate convective heat transfer in small scales. The fully developed flow field, simulated by a Lattice Boltzmann Method, is combined with Lagrangian tracking of thermal markers to determine the behavior of an instantaneous scalar line source located at the wall of a channel. The resulting probability density functions are used to calculate the behavior of continuous line sources of heat at the wall of the channel, as well as the temperature for the case of constant temperature or constant heat flux from the wall. This method is resourceful in terms of computational efficiency, in that it can be used to simulate various thermal boundary conditions and Prandtl number fluids with a single flow field resulting from a Lattice Boltzmann simulation.Copyright © 2005 by ASME
Optimizing Energy Consumption in Terahertz Band Nanonetworks

In this paper, we develop a technique for achieving the maximum utilization of harvested energy in perpetual wireless nanonetworks, where nanonodes communicate in the THz frequency band. Because of their nano-scale sizes, nanonodes cannot store large amounts of energy. Compounding the problem, the arrival of energy is not constant, but follows a stochastic process. Therefore, an optimum design for the consumption of this limited amount of energy is required. We model the problem as a Markov decision process, where we include the energy for both reception and transmission of packets. We analyze the performance of the energy harvesting and consumption processes for very low energy harvesting rates and small energy storage capacity. We compare the performance of the optimal policy with intuitive energy consumption policies. Next, since solving an optimized problem of this sort is too compute-intensive for nanonodes with limited resources, we propose a light-weight heuristic method that can perform close to optimal. Simulation results show that our heuristic model and the optimal model can serve as a framework for the design of nanonodes that operate in low rate stochastic energy harvesting conditions with limited energy storage.
Use of vacuum-assisted wound closure in three chronic wounds

Vacuum-assisted wound closure has been reported to promote the healing of chronic wounds by increasing the vascularity and oxygenation of the wound bed, maintaining a moist environment, and removing exudate through negative pressure. The results of vacuum-assisted wound closure for 3 patients with chronic wounds are presented.
On the complex representation of the general extensional and flexural problems of thin plates and their analogies

Abstract The paper constitutes a generalization of the complex variable method developed by Muschelisvili and Lechnitzky for solving the extensional and flexural problems of thin plates to include, respectively, the effect of the body force and the lateral load. The two usual analogies between the two types of problems are also established in a quantitative manner for these general cases; and, as was observed by Southwell, the two analogies may be combined into one with the reversal of the sign of Poisson's ratio. As illustrations, several circular plate problems are solved by means of the generalized boundary equations derived, and the corresponding analogous problems of some of these are determined by means of the analogies. As a necessity, a relation is established first between the indefinite integral and the line integral of a non-analytic function in the complex plane.
The Queen of America: Mary Cutts's Life of Dolley Madison. Edited by Catherine Allgor . Charlottesville: University of Virginia Press, 2012. 240 pp.

The Queen of America: Mary Cutts's Life of Dolley Madison. Edited by Catherine Allgor. Charlottesville: University of Virginia Press, 2012. 240 pp. Many historians (including myself) have cited the Memoirs and Letters of Dolly Madison: Wife of James Madison, President of the United States, edited by Lucia Beverly Cutts and published in 1886 (Boston and New York: Houghton, Mifflin and Company, 1886), without realizing that the volume was actually written by Dolley's niece, Mary Estelle Elizabeth Cutts, and published without attribution. In The Queen of America, edited by University of California-Riverside Professor of History Catherine Allgor, Mary Cutts's original "Life of Mrs. Madison," written in the late 1840s and early 1850s, is now published for the first time. The first half of this volume, entitled "Contexts," features three essays by Allgor, Holly Cowan Schulman, and Elizabeth Dowling Taylor that establish the context of Mary Cutts's biography. Taylor's essay sketches the life of Mary Cutts, the daughter of Dolley's younger sister Anna Payne and her husband Richard Cutts. Born in 1814, Mary, who never married, summered at the Madisons' Montpelier plantation until James Madison's death, and thereafter resided in Washington, DC, whence the widow Madison permanently moved in 1844. Dolley, who late in life became concerned with her historical reputation, may have encouraged Mary to become her biographer. Mary died in 1852 at the age of 42, while seeking to publish her manuscript. Allgor's essay describes Cutts as a "vanishing lady," whose memoirs of Dolley "are as much about a mid-nineteenth-century woman writer as they are about an early republican First Lady" (p. 3). Mary faced the challenge of being a female historian and author in the age of the Cult of Domesticity. Equally daunting, she tried to establish Dolley's "historical significance without making her seem unladylike" to her mid-nineteenth century audience (pp. 8-9)- Mary's biography thus argued that Dolley's legendary charm was not an acquired skill used to disarm political foes but an innate attribute. Mary similarly claimed that Dolley used her famous Washington, DC, entertainments for amusement rather than for political networking. Shulman's essay explores how Cutts's biography covered up the darker aspects of her subject's life. For example, Mary ignored Dolley's deadbeat brothers and falsely presented her crooked father, John Payne, as a victim of economic hard luck. However successful Dolley's charm may have been in Washington, DC, Shulman shows that it failed to soften her husband's relatives in Virginia, who condemned her and her son by her first marriage, John Payne Todd, for extravagance and financial mismanagement. …