cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Analysis on the epidemic characteristics of rabies from 2000 to 2009 in Yichang city

Objective To analyze the epidemic character of rabies in Yichang city, and to provide the basis for the control strategies. Methods Cases investigation were used to analyze all the rabies cases reported from 2000 to 2009 in Yichang city. Results There were 78 cases of rabies reported from 2000 to 2009. The average annual incidence rate was 0.20 per 100 000 and the fatality rate was 100.00%. Rabies cases were reported in 13 counties in Yichang. 39 case were reported in Dangyang county and Zhijiang county, accounted for 50.00% in all reported cases. 75.64% of the patients were over 40 years old. Most cases were farmers and students. Dogs were the main animal host of the rabies virus, 96.15% of them had no rabies vaccination. Conclusions The main reasons for the rabies epidemic are the dogs with no standardized management, with no vaccination for the exposure of people. So strengthening the monitoring of rabies, strengthening the management of dogs, and treating post-exposure cases in time are very important for prevention and control of rabies. Key words: Rabies; Epidemiological factors; Analysis; Prediction
Physiologic Skin Changes in Pregnancy

Pregnancy is associated with significant physiologic changes that directly impact the skin. Cutaneous alterations in skin pigmentation, hair, nail, connective tissue, and vascular manifestations can occur. The physiologic cutaneous changes are impacted by metabolic, immunologic, and hormonal fluctuations. Some cutaneous findings can be alarming to both the patient and physician, including hyperpigmentation, striae, and hair loss, and certain vascular lesions can become friable and bleed. It is important for healthcare providers to recognize both normal and abnormal physiologic cutaneous manifestations of pregnancy in order to recommend appropriate management.
Assessment of risk factors in established cases of venous thrombosis

Background: Despite prevalence of venous thrombosis (VT) in Indians, there are few prospective studies. Objective: To analyze the demographic profile, proven risk factors, and coagulation profile of south Indian patients with proven VT. Materials and Methods: This single-center prospective observational study was conducted among patients with proven VT from August 2013 to July 2019. Hypercoagulable workup (serum homocysteine, activity of protein C, protein S and anti-thrombin III, antiphospholipid antibodies immunoglobulin [IgM] and IgG, factor V [Leiden] mutation) was performed. Results: Out of 295 patients (mean age 56 years; male 64%) of VT, 85.76% had deep vein thrombosis (DVT) whereas 14.24% had superficial vein thrombosis (SVT). Patients with DVT were significantly older than those with SVT (P
Wilfred McClay, Land of Hope: An Invitation to the Great American Story. Pp. 459 + xiv. New York: Encounter Books, 2019

Although former Senator Rick Santorum was criticized in Politifact for contending, in a 2015 address to the National Rifle Association, that the late Howard Zinn’s Marxist-tinged People’s History o...
Barriers to Parental Leave During Training: Time for Change:

BackgroundStandardized parental leave policies for medical trainees are lacking, and barriers may differ among specialties. We aimed to characterize experiences of physicians who became parents dur...
Rule of Law from the Ground Up: Legal Curriculum Reform in Afghanistan

The rule of law, arguably the most cherished political ideal, remains elusive in many corners of the world. Since its formation in the mid-eighteenth century, Afghanistan has experienced episodes of “rule by law,” “rule of man,” and “rule of gun” much more so than the rule of law. This Article contributes to the literature by exploring the nexus between the rule of law and legal education in developing and transitional states. In particular, the Article examines the critical role of curriculum reform in bolstering the legal education system and, thereby, promoting a rule of law culture in Afghanistan. The Afghanistan Legal Education Project (ALEP) was established in 2007 to respond to the pressing curriculum challenge confronting Afghan law schools. Innovative curriculum initiatives like ALEP can serve as catalysts for meaningful rule of law reform by tackling foundational deficiencies in the legal education system. First, ALEP’s textbooks meet the urgent demand for updated and rigorous pedagogical resources to better understand Afghanistan’s rapidly evolving legal landscape. Second, the curriculum strengthens law students’ critical thinking and analytical skills (thinking like a lawyer). Third, ALEP’s publications emphasize practice skills (acting like a lawyer). Fourth, the materials encourage the students to engage in critical discussions of legal ethics and professionalism (being a lawyer). Finally, ALEP’s original work in legal education reform constitutes a long-term and cost-effective investment in building a robust legal profession and elevating trust in the justice system. By enhancing the capacities of future lawyers to fulfill their legal obligations, such pioneering initiatives can serve as an impetus for concerted efforts in cultivating a rule of law culture from the ground up in Afghanistan and other transitional societies.
Comprehensive two-dimensional gas chromatography with pattern modulation

Comprehensive two-dimensional gas chromatography (GC×GC) modulators normally transfer primary column effluent to the head of the secondary column as a series of sharp pulses. Such pulses are produced with time-varying temperature gradients in thermal modulation or with time-varying flow patterns in flow modulation. Thermal modulators produce narrow peaks at optimal flow rates, but require large amounts of consumables or a highly engineered heating/cooling system. Flow modulators involve simpler hardware and no additional consumables. However, flow modulators require a large increase in secondary column flow or transfer only a small portion of the primary effluent to the secondary column. This study examines a new method of producing GC×GC separations with a flow modulator. Instead of injecting narrow pulses, the modulator transfers primary effluent to the secondary column in the form of an intricate injection pattern. The detector signal is deconvoluted and converted to a two-dimensional chromatogram. The high duty cycle of the technique (>50%) leads to deconvoluted peaks with twenty times greater intensity than those produced by conventional modulation with a Deans switch modulator. Pattern modulation can be produced without requiring elevated carrier flows. This study evaluates the efficacy of pattern modulation GC×GC by analyzing a standard mixture of 43 oxygenated organic compounds and an E85 fuel sample.
Accuracy, reproducibility, and interpretation of Fatty Acid methyl ester profiles of model bacterial communities.

We determined the accuracy and reproducibility of whole-community fatty acid methyl ester (FAME) analysis with two model bacterial communities differing in composition by using the Microbial ID, Inc. (MIDI), system. The biomass, taxonomic structure, and expected MIDI-FAME profiles under a variety of environmental conditions were known for these model communities a priori. Not all members of each community could be detected in the composite profile because of lack of fatty acid “signatures” in some isolates or because of variations (approximately fivefold) in fatty acid yield across taxa. MIDI-FAME profiles of replicate subsamples of a given community were similar in terms of fatty acid yield per unit of community dry weight and relative proportions of specific fatty acids. Principal-components analysis (PCA) of MIDI-FAME profiles resulted in a clear separation of the two different communities and a clustering of replicates of each community from two separate experiments on the first PCA axis. The first PCA axis accounted for 57.1% of the variance in the data and was correlated with fatty acids that varied significantly between communities and reflected the underlying community taxonomic structure. On the basis of our data, community fatty acid profiles can be used to assess the relative similarities and differences of microbial communities that differ in taxonomic composition. However, detailed interpretation of community fatty acid profiles in terms of biomass or community taxonomic composition must be viewed with caution until our knowledge of the quantitative and qualitative distribution of fatty acids over a wide variety of taxa and the effects of growth conditions on fatty acid profiles is more extensive.
Thrombolytic therapy and the nursing profession. Results of a statewide survey

A statewide survey of 624 nurses in 92 hospitals in Massachusetts indicates that recombinant tissue-type plasminogen activator and streptokinase are the most widely available thrombolytic agents. Nurses play an active role in drug reconstitution and administration, but only 20% of the total respondents participate consistently in screening procedures. The majority of patients were informed about the risks and benefits of treatment before initiation of therapy. Nurses reported their major management concern was internal bleeding, with cost of treatment being a minor concern.
The crystal structure and thermal expansion of Mo5SiB2

Abstract Mo 5 SiB 2 (T2), synthesized with 11 B, was studied using high temperature neutron powder diffraction. This ternary compound crystallizes with a tetragonal unit cell, space group I4/mcm, with room temperature lattice parameters a =6.0272(3) and c =11.0671(7) A. The structural refinement reveals that B substitutes for a minor amount of Si for a formula of Mo 5 Si 0.89 B 2.11 . The refined lattice parameters studied as a function of temperature give average thermal expansion coefficients along the a and c-axes, (7.9±0.1)×10 −6 K −1 and (7.5±0.2)×10 −6 K −1 , respectively. The thermal expansion of Mo 5 SiB 2 is, therefore, nearly isotropic. A more detailed evaluation shows that the thermal expansion coefficient, as well as the thermal expansion anisotropy, vary with temperature.
The information theoretic foundations of a probabilistic and predictive micro and macro economics

Despite the productive efforts of economists, the disequilibrium nature of the economic system and imprecise predictions persist. One reason for this outcome is that traditional econometric models and estimation and inference methods cannot provide the necessary quantitative information for the causal influence-dynamic micro and macro questions we need to ask given the noisy indirect effects data we use. To move economics in the direction of a probabilistic and causal based predictive science, in this paper information theoretic estimation and inference methods are suggested as a basis for understanding and making predictions about dynamic micro and macro economic processes and systems.
Mechanical Sound: Technology, Culture, and Public Problems of Noise in the Twentieth Century

Reviewed Medium: book Authors: Karin Bijsterveld Year: 2008 Publisher: The MIT Press ISBN: 978-0-262-02639-0 (hard cover). Prices: 43(hard cover).
The science of cognitive science

Maurice Bloch (2012) argues that ethnographers’ animosity toward and ignorance of cognitive science is based on a false dichotomy between ‘nature’ (as in universal human nature) and ‘culture’. Bloch characterises ethnography as evoking and describing culturally and historically specific symbolic systems that ground and enable meaningful lives. He further argues that there is no such thing as ‘super-organic meaning’. All meaning, even culturally constructed meaning, is the product of individual human minds and must be interpreted by individual minds. Cognitive science, including philosophy and linguistics as well as psychology, is the science of mental representations, and thus of the symbols individual minds create, interpret and use in practice, communication and thought. Bloch argues that ignoring the science of mental representation, at the very least, makes the work of ethnographers less nuanced and rich than it might otherwise be and, at worst, leads to theoretical commitments that are deeply counterproductive. Conversely, he argues that cognitive scientists’ refusal or inability to understand the profound lessons of the work of ethnographers from Malinowski through Boas through Evans-Pritchard through Geertz symmetrically makes their work less nuanced and rich thanitmightotherwisebeandsimilarlyleadstoavoidable,theoreticallyimportant,errors. Here I focus on the latter possibility. I respond to two of Bloch’ sw orries concerning where cognitive science has gone wrong by virtue of not properly appreciating the cultural/historical specificity of symbol systems. Although I believe these worries are groundless, I endorse Bloch’s call for rapprochement, and conclude with other reasons cognitive scientists should enlist in the more sustained collaboration Bloch advocates. Bloch’s worries:
Cerrando y reabriendo el espacio público en la ciudad latinoamericana

This analysis provides a glimpse of the contradictions between the artistic and often idealized representational purposes of the urban plaza, and its political and economic base. Bringing these contradictions to light helps to demystify and highlight the ways in which public urban design is deeply ideological (rather than neutral) both in artistic style and political purpose. Further, by identifying the political and economic objectives of designed public space, its planning, design, construction, or refurbishing takes on new meaning. A public space that is valued ostensibly as a place for people to sit, read, and gather, becomes a strategy for revitalizing a declining city center, a tourist center, and a means of attracting new investments and foreign capital.
Air Pollution or Global Warming: Attribution of Extreme Precipitation Changes in Eastern China—Comments on "Trends of Extreme Precipitation in Eastern China and Their Possible Causes"

The recent study “Trends of Extreme Precipitation in Eastern China and Their Possible Causes” attributed the observed decrease/increase of light/heavy precipitation in eastern China to global warming rather than the regional aerosol effects. However, there exist compelling evidence from previous long-term observations and numerical modeling studies, suggesting that anthropogenic pollution is closely linked to the recent changes in precipitation intensity because of considerably modulated cloud physical properties by aerosols in eastern China. Clearly, a quantitative assessment of the aerosol and greenhouse effects on the regional scale is required to identify the primary cause for the extreme precipitation changes.
Surgery for octogenarians is supported by SPORT data: commentary on an article by Jeffrey A. Rihn, MD, et al.: "Effectiveness of surgery for lumbar stenosis and degenerative spondylolisthesis in the octogenarian population. Analysis of the Spine Patient Outcomes Research Trial (SPORT) data".

The original cohort of patients included in the Spine Patient Outcomes Research Trial (SPORT) represents the largest group that will likely ever be assembled in order to definitively answer questions regarding the efficacy of surgery for intervertebral disc herniation, degenerative spondylolisthesis, and spinal stenosis. Certainly, multiple limitations of the SPORT study have been identified, but the data remain the best available to evaluate these conditions. The present study by Rihn et al. represents the largest prospective study comparing patients with degenerative spondylolisthesis and spinal stenosis treated operatively and nonoperatively, looking specifically at patients at least eighty years of age. This elderly population represents a large subset of patients with these two conditions for whom there is little evidence regarding optimal treatment. Every spine surgeon moves forward with trepidation in treating such elderly patients because of the medical comorbidities facing this population. The results of this study demonstrate that this demographic group benefits from surgery similarly to a younger population; this information is useful in counseling patients …
System identification of closed-loop cardiovascular control mechanisms: diabetic autonomic neuropathy

We applied cardiovascular system identification (CSI) to characterize closed-loop cardiovascular regulation in patients with diabetic autonomic neuropathy (DAN). The CSI method quantitatively analyzes beat-to-beat fluctuations in noninvasively measured heart rate, arterial blood pressure (ABP), and instantaneous lung volume (ILV) to characterize four physiological coupling mechanisms, two of which are autonomically mediated (the heart rate baroreflex and the coupling of respiration, measured in terms of ILV, to heart rate) and two of which are mechanically mediated (the coupling of ventricular contraction to the generation of the ABP wavelet and the coupling of respiration to ABP). We studied 37 control and 60 diabetic subjects who were classified as having minimal, moderate, or severe DAN on the basis of standard autonomic tests. The autonomically mediated couplings progressively decreased with increasing severity of DAN, whereas the mechanically mediated couplings were essentially unchanged. CSI identified differences between the minimal DAN and control groups, which were indistinguishable based on the standard autonomic tests. CSI may provide a powerful tool for assessing DAN.
Safety of high dose trivalent inactivated influenza vaccine in pediatric patients with acute lymphoblastic leukemia

Background Although children with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) mount immune responses after vaccination with the trivalent influenza vaccine (TIV), these responses are lower compared to controls. Recently, a high dose (HD) TIV was found to increase the level of antibody response in elderly patients compared to the standard dose (SD) TIV. We hypothesized that the HD TIV would be well-tolerated and more immunogenic compared to the SD TIV in pediatric subjects with ALL. Procedure This was a randomized, double-blind, phase I safety trial comparing the HD to the SD TIV in children with ALL. Our secondary objective was immunogenicity. Subjects were randomized 2:1 to receive either the HD (60 µg) or the SD (15 µg) TIV. Local and systemic reactions were solicited, hemagglutinin inhibition titers to influenza virus antigens were measured, and monitoring labs were collected prior to and/or after each vaccination. Results Fifty subjects were enrolled (34 HD, 16 SD). Mean age was 8.5 years; 63% were male, and 80% were in maintenance therapy. There were no significant differences reported in local or systemic symptoms. No severe adverse events were attributed to vaccination. No significant differences between the HD and SD TIV groups were noted for immune responses. Conclusions No differences were noted between the HD and SD TIV groups for solicited systemic and local reactions. Since this study was not powered for immunogenicity, a phase II trial is needed to determine the immunogenicity of HD versus SD TIV in the pediatric ALL population. Pediatr Blood Cancer 2014;61:815–820. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Applying Decision Analysis to Determine the Effect of Smoke Detector Laws on Fire Loss in the United States

Decision analysis is used to examine whether residential smoke detectors should be required by law. Statistics pertaining to fire incidence, fire death, smoke detector efficacy, and the consequences of fire are examined for accuracy and availability and combined in a decision model. A sensitivity analysis is performed on the model inputs. Included in the analysis is the idea that homes with detectors may have lower death rates due to the characteristics of those who purchase detectors rather than the detectors themselves. Results from the base case estimate show an expected cost of $65,000 per life saved when a law is enacted. This value lies well below the value implied by spending on other public safety programs.
PLENARY IV: On the Sufficiency of Ignorance: Recent Lessons in Network Architecture

With its emphasis on fundamental limits, information theoretic analysis has a long history of providing important architectural insights into the design of efficient communication systems. Frequently, these insights have arisen from uncovering when certain kinds of system constraints do *not* incur a cost in the performance metric of interest. This tradition is alive and well, with many such insights from the community over the past decade or more now influencing the design of several emerging systems. Today, there continues to be much work seeking to uncover additional instances of such phenomena that may prove important in tomorrow's systems. In this talk, I will describe three diverse but representative examples from our own efforts. In particular, I will discuss the problems of parasitic communication, MIMO scheduling, and rateless coding. Based on a variety of joint works in recent years with subsets of Richard Barron, Brian Chen Aaron Cohen, Stark Draper, Uri Erez, Emin Martinian, Urs Niesen, Devavrat Shah, Charles Swannack, Elif Uysal-Biyikoglu, and Mitchell Trott.
Long-Term Performance of Screwbase Compact Fluorescent Lamps

Over the past several years, screwbase compact fluorescent lamps (SCFLs) have been promoted as replacements for incandescent lamps in interior and exterior luminaires. One commonly quoted benefit for SCFLs is longer life. The lamp industry uses the 3-hour-on/20-minute-off switching cycle to determine rated lamp life. However, in residential applications, lamps are switched on and off at different rates and lamp life for SCFLs depends on how frequently they are switched. An experiment was conducted to investigate the effects of different operating cycles on the life of SCFL products. Data for 11 different SCFL products from six different manufacturers operating in six different cycles are reported. This paper discusses performance characteristics of SCFL and factors affecting fluorescent lamp life. Differences between SCFL products and linear fluorescent lamps are also discussed.
Interactions between β Subunits of the KCNMB Family and Slo3: β4 Selectively Modulates Slo3 Expression and Function

Background: The pH and voltage-regulated Slo3 K + channel, a homologue of the Ca 2+ - and voltage-regulated Slo1 K + channel, is thought to be primarily expressed in sperm, but the properties of Slo3 studied in heterologous systems differ somewhat from the native sperm KSper pH-regulated current. There is the possibility that critical partners that regulate Slo3 function remain unidentified. The extensive amino acid identity between Slo3 and Slo1 suggests that auxiliary b subunits regulating Slo1 channels might coassemble with and modulate Slo3 channels. Four distinct b subunits composing the KCNMB family are known to regulate the function and expression of Slo1 Channels. Methodology/Principal Findings: To examine the ability of the KCNMB family of auxiliary b subunits to regulate Slo3 function, we co-expressed Slo3 and each b subunit in heterologous expression systems and investigated the functional consequences by electrophysiological and biochemical analyses. The b4 subunit produced an 8–10 fold enhancement of Slo3 current expression in Xenopus oocytes and a similar enhancement of Slo3 surface expression as monitored by YFPtagged Slo3 or biotin labeled Slo3. Neither b1, b2, nor b3 mimicked the ability of b4 to increase surface expression, although biochemical tests suggested that all four b subunits are competent to coassemble with Slo3. Fluorescence microscopy from b4 KO mice, in which an eGFP tag replaced the deleted exon, revealed that b4 gene promoter is active in spermatocytes. Furthermore, quantitative RT-PCR demonstrated that b4 and Slo3 exhibit comparable mRNA abundance in both testes and sperm. Conclusions/Significance: These results argue that, for native mouse Slo3 channels, the b4 subunit must be considered as a potential interaction partner and, furthermore, that KCNMB subunits may have functions unrelated to regulation of the Slo1 a subunit.
Carbon fiber polymer-matrix composite interfaces as thermocouple junctions

Thermocouples made from dissimilar continuous carbon fibers in the form of epoxy-matrix composite, using the interlaminar interface as the thermocouple junction, were found to exhibit thermocouple ...
Facilitating grant proposal writing in health behaviors for university faculty: a descriptive study.

Grant proposal writing in the behavioral sciences is important for fiscal reasons and scientific reasons at many universities. This report describes a grant proposal–writing seminar series provided to University faculty (N = 20) and explores factors facilitating and impeding writing. Summary statistics are provided for quantitative data. Free responses were sorted by independent raters into meaningful categories. As a consequence of the training, 45% planned to submit within 18 months; 80% of grant proposals targeted NIH. At 1-year follow-up, 40% actually submitted grants. Factors impeding grant proposal writing included competing professional demands; factors facilitating writing included regularly scheduled feedback on written proposal sections and access to expert collaborators. Obtaining grants generates financial resources, facilitates training experiences, and vastly contributes to the growth and dissemination of the knowledge base in an area.
Neuromodulatory complement of the pericardial organs in the embryonic lobster, homarus americanus

The pericardial organs (POs) are a pair of neurosecretory organs that surround the crustacean heart and release neuromodulators into the hemolymph. In adult crustaceans, the POs are known to contain a wide array of peptide and amine modulators. However, little is known about the modulatory content of POs early in development. We characterize the morphology and modulatory content of pericardial organs in the embryonic lobster, Homarus americanus. The POs are well developed by midway through embryonic (E50) life and contain a wide array of neuromodulatory substances. Immunoreactivities to orcokinin, extended FLRFamide peptides, tyrosine hydroxylase, proctolin, allatostatin, serotonin, Cancer borealis tachykinin-related peptide, cholecystokinin, and crustacean cardioactive peptide are present in the POs by approximately midway through embryonic life. There are two classes of projection patterns to the POs. Immunoreactivities to orcokinin, extended FLRFamide peptides, and tyrosine hydroxylase project solely from the subesophageal ganglion (SEG), whereas the remaining modulators project from the SEG as well as from the thoracic ganglia. Double-labeling experiments with a subset of modulators did not reveal any colocalized peptides in the POs. These results suggest that the POs could be a major source of neuromodulators early in development.
Effects of calcium channel blockers on the pharmacokinetics of propranolol stereoisomers.

Diltiazem and verapamil inhibit oxidative drug metabolism both in vivo and in vitro. We compared their effects on the stereoselective pharmacokinetics and protein binding of propranolol in 12 subjects. After 6 days of coadministration with racemic propranolol, diltiazem caused decreases of 27% and 24% in d-propranolol and 1-propranolol oral clearances, respectively (p < 0.05 versus control). With verapamil, d-propranolol oral clearance decreased 32% (p < 0.05), and 1-propranolol oral clearance decreased 26% (p < 0.05). The unbound fraction of d-propranolol was higher than that of 1-propranolol (p < 0.05), but the protein binding was not altered by diltiazem or verapamil. Both drugs therefore decreased the unbound oral clearance of each propranolol enantiomer (p < 0.05). Verapamil caused a stereoselective effect and increased the d/1 ratio of propranolol serum concentrations (p < 0.05) and decreased the d/1 ratio of oral clearance (p < 0.05). Clinical Pharmacology and Therapeutics (1990) 47, 584–591; doi:10.1038/clpt.1990.79
Automatic Tachycardia Recognition

A microcomputer algorithm for tachycardia identification, suitable for use in un implanted antitachycardia pacemaker, is described. The system employs an atrial and ventricular electrogram, detects a sustained fast rate in either chamber, and awakens the main program to perform detailed analysis of the tachycardia and its immediately preceding beats. The algorithm distinguishes atrial, ventricular, and AV nodal and re-entrant tachycardia from high rates due to sinus tachycardia. For testing of the program, we used a data base of twenty-two tape-recorded and documented arrhythmias provoked during electrophysiologic studies in which atrial and ventricular bipolar electrodes were in place; twenty-one of twenty-two wave successfully detected. These included atrial fibrillation, atrial flutter, atrial tachycardia, AV nodal re-entrant tachycardia, AV re-entrant tachycardia using an accessory pathway, and ventricular tachycardia with and without ventriculo-atrial conduction.
Multiphoton Ionization Spectroscopy Of Alkaline Earth Atoms

By using multiphoton ionization spectroscopy, hundreds of previously unobserved states have been identified in the alkaline earth atoms Ca, Sr and Ba. In this technique, pulsed, tunable dye lasers are focused into a pipe containing the atomic vapor. A simple wire probe, inserted into the hot vapor, readily detects ions produced as a result of the multiphoton excitation. Excitation spectra from various well-defined initial states are obtained by re-cording the ion signal as a function of laser wavelength. In a single laser experiment, one obtains the two-photon excitation spectrum from the 1S0 ground state of the alkaline earths, to the Rydberg series of bound even-parity 1S0, 1D2 and 3D2 states, most of which have not previously been identified by conventional spectroscopy. In a two-laser version of this experiment, we have made the first observation of Rydberg series of even-parity auto-onizing states. In a three laser variation the excitation spectrum from the first excited 3S1 levels (of Ca, Sr and Ba) reveals the 3P0 Rydberg series. Since transitions from the 1S0 ground state to these series are spin-forbidden, they have not previously been seen in absorption spectra.© (1977) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.
Neuroprotective strategies for HIV-1 associated dementia.

The human immunodeficiency virus-1 (HIV-1) commonly affects cognitive, behavioral and motor functions during the disease course. The neuropathogenesis of viral infection revolves around neurotoxins produced from infected and immune-activated mononuclear phagocytes (MP; perivascular macrophages and microglia). Direct infection of neurons occurs rarely, if at all. Neurologic disease arises in part as a consequence of MP metabolic dysfunction. Although the advent of highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) has attenuated the incidence and severity of neurologic disease, it, nonetheless, remains a common and disabling problem for those living with HIV-1 infection. Adjunctive therapies are currently designed to ameliorate clinical outcomes and are included in the therapeutic armamentarium. Antiinflammatory drugs that inhibit cytokines, chemokines and interferons linked to neurodegenerative processes can significantly ameliorate neuronal function. HIV-1 neurotoxins have the unique ability to up-regulate glycogen synthase kinase-3β (GSK-3β) activity that in turn elicits neuronal apoptosis. GSK-3β inhibitors are neuroprotective in animal models of Neuro AIDS. They are also currently in Phase 1 clinical trials designed for safety and tolerability in patients with HIV-1 infection. Neurotrophins are only beginning to be realized for their therapeutic potential in HIV-1 associated neurologic disease. This review article provides a broad overview of neuroprotective strategies for HIV-1 infection and details how such strategies act and may be implemented for treatment of human disease.
CONSTRUCTING EXAMINATIONS VIA APL

Tests that are administered over and over, semester after semester will soon become fixtures in various student files and thus will no longer measure achievement but only the cleverness of students in finding files and memorizing answers. By generating examinations in a random fashion by computer, new examinations are easily obtained whenever necessary. APL is an ideal language for this exam generation.
ADHERENCE OF HUMAN PHAGOCYTES TO PLASTIC RESULTS IN CHARACTERISTIC REORGANIZATION AND REDISTRIBUTION OF DISTINCT F-ACTIN POOLS. ▴ 965

ADHERENCE OF HUMAN PHAGOCYTES TO PLASTIC RESULTS IN CHARACTERISTIC REORGANIZATION AND REDISTRIBUTION OF DISTINCT F-ACTIN POOLS. ▴ 965
Correlation effects in the periodic Anderson lattice

Abstract The series expansion of local approach to investigate electron and spin correlation has been extended to the periodic Anderson lattice. The results show that Coulomb interaction leads to an enhancement of correlation energy |Ec|, a formation of local moments, a reduce of ground state energy and charge fluctuation.
A 4GHz-bandwidth op-amp-free track-and-hold and 6-bit flash ADC in 45nm SOI CMOS

A 2GS/s 6-bit flash sub-ADC with an op-amp free track-and-hold (T&H) for use in an 8GS/s 4-way time-interleaved ADC was implemented in 45nm SOI CMOS. The T&H utilizes a passive charge sharing technique and achieves a 4GHz input bandwidth at 2GS/s clock rate without an op-amp. The flash sub-ADC consumes 74mW at 2GS/s and occupies an area of 0.2mm2. The measured INL and DNL are -0.9/1.0LSB and -1.35/0.9LSB, respectively. The sub-ADC SNDR is 33.9dB at 2GS/s with a 125MHz input and 30.6dB with a 4GHz input.
The Unsuspecting CAM User: Cancer patients and the changing nature of holistic health

The number of cancer patients using complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) in the United States is growing, yet little is known about the meaning these activities have for users. Current literature supports the assumption that stigma surrounding CAM and holistic health practices are responsible for the reluctance of many cancer patients to self-identify as CAM users. This study explored the frequency of use, and familiarity with CAM among 25 female patients at a Midwestern oncology clinic. Findings suggest that patients need to be asked about CAM use multiple times and in multiple formats to gain an accurate assessment. Also, the assumptions about stigma may no longer be the reason patients are less than forthcoming about CAM use. The rise of integrative medicine and shifting boundaries of the holistic health movement may be equally, or in some cases, more responsible for the reluctance for CAM users to self-identify.
The telecommunications equipment market: public policy and the 1970's

The growing interdependence of computers and communications, generally identified with developments in digital transmission and remote data processing services, has not only broadened the market potential for telecommunication equipment but has posed several important public policy issues as well. It is the purpose of this paper to explore the relationship between the telecommunications equipment market and U.S. telecommunication policy. To this end we will first survey the traditional pattern of supplying hardware and equipment within the communications common carrier industry and second, identify recent challenges to that industry's conduct and practices. We will conclude that public policy holds a key variable in promoting competitive access to the telecommunication equipment market---access that will redound to the benefit of equipment suppliers, communication carriers, and ultimately the general public.
Retrospective reports on frequency judgments

Two groups of college students were given an unexpected event-frequency test following the completion of a simple cognitive task (composing sentences from slide-presented words or estimating the linguistic frequency of the same words). All of the subjects were then asked to describe how they had gone about making the event-frequency judgments. The predominant trend in the retrospective reports of the subjects who had composed unique sentences supported a multiple-traces factor (counting of the individual sentences), whereas the predominant trend in the reports of the subjects who had estimated linguistic frequencies supported a strength factor (general impression, familiarity). A dual-factor hypothesis of frequency processing is suggested, with counting of memory traces operative mainly for the lower frequencies and the more highly differentiated traces, and some kind of strength factor operative mainly for the higher frequencies, for which counting becomes difficult, and the less clearly differentiated traces.
Global visions for space exploration education

Abstract The National Space Biomedical Research Institute (NSBRI), established in 1997 through a National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) competition, is a 12-university consortium dedicated to space life science research and education. NSBRI's Education and Public Outreach Program (EPOP) has partnered with Morehouse School of Medicine (MSM) to support NSBRI-NASA's education mission, which is to strengthen the nation's future science workforce through initiatives that communicate space exploration biology research findings to schools; support undergraduate and graduate programs; fund postdoctoral fellowships; and engage national and international audiences in collegial exchanges that promote global visions for space exploration education. This paper describes select MSM–NSBRI–EPOP activities, including scholarly interchanges with audiences in Austria, Canada, France, China, Greece, Italy, Scotland and Spain. The paper also makes the case for a global space exploration education vision that inspires students, engages educators and informs general audiences about the benefits that space exploration holds for life on Earth.
Neogene Tectonic Evolution of the Salinian Block, West-Central California

The 600-km-long Salinian block is petrologically similar to the plutonic-volcanic arc complexes of the Sierra and Peninsular Ranges and is bounded on the east by the San Andreas fault. Neogene motion of only 300 km on the fault is insufficient to explain the present offset position of the Salinian block, assuming that it was originally contiguous with the Sierra and Peninsular Ranges. Models involving earlier pre-Eocene movements on an “ancestral” San Andreas fault can account for the basement offset, but a reconstruction based on such models leaves the Salinian block standing at least 100 km west of its counterparts. In addition, it does not explain how the present length of 600 km fits in a 300-km gap between the Sierra and Peninsular Ranges. Our model postulates that significant slivering and northwestward extension have occurred within the block during Neogene time, and that the block formed a westward-protruding bulge in the North American continental margin prior to collision of the Pacific and North American plates. A reconstruction of plate motions indicates approximately 1,000 km of relative North American–Pacific displacement in the last 30 m.y.; this displacement could easily account for the block9s extension and basement offset.
An Assistive Control Approach for a Lower-Limb Exoskeleton to Facilitate Recovery of Walking Following Stroke

This paper presents a control approach for a lower-limb exoskeleton intended to facilitate recovery of walking in individuals with lower-extremity hemiparesis after stroke. The authors hypothesize that such recovery is facilitated by allowing the patient rather than the exoskeleton to provide movement coordination. As such, an assistive controller that provides walking assistance without dictating the spatiotemporal nature of joint movement is described here. Following a description of the control laws and finite state structure of the controller, the authors present the results of an experimental implementation and preliminary validation of the control approach, in which the control architecture was implemented on a lower limb exoskeleton, and the exoskeleton implemented in an experimental protocol on three subjects with hemiparesis following stroke. In a series of sessions in which each patient used the exoskeleton, all patients showed substantial single-session improvements in all measured gait outcomes, presumably as a result of using the assistive controller and exoskeleton.
From quantal counts to mechanisms and systems: The past, present, and future of biometrics in environmental toxicology

Summary. As appreciation for human impact on the environment has developed, so have the experimental systems and associated statistical tools that quantify this impact. Toxicological study in particular has grown in its complexity and its need for advanced statistical support. Within this perspective, we describe statistical practice in environmental toxicology and risk assessment. We present two case studies, one from mammalian toxicology and one from aquatic toxicology, that highlight the evolution of statistical practice in environmental toxicology.
Regional Development of the Human Epidermis in the First Trimester Embryo and the Second Trimester Fetus (Ages Related to the Timing of Amniocentesis and Fetal Biopsy)

The epidermis was sampled from multiple body sites of whole human embryos and fetuses of 45- and 65-days, 16- and 21-weeks estimated gestation age to determine whether a regionally dependent, variable rate of inter-follicular epidermal development exists. Surface characteristics and thickness of the epidermis were evaluated by scanning electron and light microscopy, respectively. It was concluded that all epidermal development proceeded simultaneously during the first trimester with the exception of the foot which was more advanced in both thickness and state of differentiation. During the second trimester the epidermis of both the head and the foot showed more precocious development, particularly in relation to the special sense organs and to the plantar surface. The interfollicular epidermis of the majority of the body, however, was approximately equivalent in the state of development. These data have potential relevance to prenatal diagnosis of inherited skin disease from amniocentesis and/or fetal biopsy specimens; the present survey of the total epidermal surface will allow one to predict the types of skin-derived cells that should be present in the amniotic fluid at a given age, and to evaluate a fetal biopsy from one region and be confident that it is an accurate index of fetal skin development, age and status in general.
Attention modulates spatial priority maps in the human occipital, parietal and frontal cortices

Computational theories propose that attention modulates the topographical landscape of spatial 'priority' maps in regions of the visual cortex so that the location of an important object is associated with higher activation levels. Although studies of single-unit recordings have demonstrated attention-related increases in the gain of neural responses and changes in the size of spatial receptive fields, the net effect of these modulations on the topography of region-level priority maps has not been investigated. Here we used functional magnetic resonance imaging and a multivariate encoding model to reconstruct spatial representations of attended and ignored stimuli using activation patterns across entire visual areas. These reconstructed spatial representations reveal the influence of attention on the amplitude and size of stimulus representations within putative priority maps across the visual hierarchy. Our results suggest that attention increases the amplitude of stimulus representations in these spatial maps, particularly in higher visual areas, but does not substantively change their size.
The effects of appraisal system redesign on perceptions of and satisfaction with performance appraisal: A quasi-experiment

A case study investigation of the effects of a change in a performance appraisal system was described. The nature of a recently implemented appraisal system was briefly outlined. Five hundred forty-seven employees of a 300-bed hospital returned mail questionnaires which asked them to respond to questions about the hospital's performance appraisal system. Two groups of employees were formed on the basis of their experience or lack of experience with the new system. It was found that the employees who had experience with the new system had more favorable perceptions of their supervisors' appraisal behaviors and were more satisfied with the appraisal process.
Appropriate antibiotic use: variation in knowledge and awareness by Hispanic ethnicity and language.

Abstract Background . Recent campaigns are informing the public that antibiotics are inappropriate for viral respiratory infections. As little is known about their effect on populations challenged by less access to care, lower education, low income, low English proficiency, or non-mainstream cultural backgrounds, this study assessed knowledge, attitudes, and awareness in an ethnically diverse community. Methods . A telephone survey in English or Spanish of a cross-sectional, random sample of 692 non-Hispanic whites (NHWs) and 300 Hispanics in Colorado. Results . For all respondent groups, knowledge of appropriate antibiotic use for colds and bronchitis was low. Hispanics surveyed in Spanish, compared with non-Hispanic whites, had significantly lower knowledge about antibiotics for colds, higher knowledge for bronchitis, lower awareness about antibiotic resistance, and greater dissatisfaction if an antibiotic were not prescribed. In all comparisons, English-language Hispanics tended to reflect non-Hispanic white response patterns. Independent predictors of awareness were ethnicity, education, and age. Independent predictors of dissatisfaction were ethnicity, knowledge about antibiotic use for colds, and bronchitis. Ethnicity was an independent predictor of knowledge about the inappropriateness of antibiotics for colds and bronchitis. Conclusions . To bridge knowledge gaps, educational campaigns for all segments of the population are needed. Content should be responsive to heterogeneity within populations.
Ethanol dependence and the pituitary-adrenal axis in mice. I. Genotypic differences in hormone levels.

Abstract Resting pituitary levels of β-endorphin-(β-EP-IR), ACTH-(ACTH-IR), and α-MSH-(α-MSH-IR)-like immunoreactive material were found to differ among 16 inbred mouse strains. Hormone levels correlated genetically with severity of withdrawal from ethanol, which also differed among the strains. Ethanol dependence led to reduced pituitary β-EP-IR in 4 of 5 strains studied. After 24 hr of withdrawal, 3 of those 4 showed elevated pituitary β-EP-IR. These results are consistent with the hypothesis that genetically-determined difference in pituitary hormone functioning underlie some of the genetically-determined differences in ethanol withdrawal severity.
Structural examination of autoregulation of multifunctional calcium/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase II.

Regulation of Ca2+/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase II is likely based on an auto-inhibitory mechanism in which a segment of the kinase occupies the catalytic site in the absence of calmodulin. We analyze potential auto-inhibitory associations by employing charge reversal and hydrophobic-to-charged residue mutagenesis. We identify interacting amino acid pairs by using double mutants to test which modification in the catalytic domain complements a given change in the auto-inhibitory domain. Our studies identify the core pseudosubstrate sequence (residues 297–300) but reveal that distinct sequences centered about the autophosphorylation site at Thr-286 are involved in the critical auto-inhibitory interactions. Individual changes in any of the residues Arg-274, His-282, Arg-283, Lys-291, Arg-297, Phe-293, and Asn-294 in the auto-inhibitory domain or their interacting partners in the catalytic domain produces an enhanced affinity for calmodulin or generates a constitutively active enzyme. A structural model of Ca2+/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase II that incorporates these interactions shows that Thr-286 is oriented inwardly into a hydrophobic channel. The model explains why calmodulin must bind to the auto-inhibitory domain in order for Thr-286 in that domain to be phosphorylated and why introduction of phospho-Thr-286 produces the important Ca2+-independent state of the enzyme.