cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Clinical nursing and midwifery research in African countries: a scoping review.

Abstract Background Globally, the nursing shortage has been deemed a crisis, but African countries have been hit hardest. Therefore, it is of utmost importance nurses use the best available evidence and that nursing research is targeted to address gaps in the evidence. To achieve this, an understanding of what is currently available and identification of gaps in clinical nursing research is critical. Objectives We performed a scoping review of existing literature to assess clinical nursing research conducted in all African countries over the past decade, identify gaps in clinical nursing and midwifery research, determine whether they match with health priorities for countries, and define priorities for regional clinical nursing research agendas to improve health outcomes. Design This is a scoping review of published clinical nursing research conducted in African countries. Data sources : Systematic searches of literature published between January 01, 2004 and September 15, 2014 were performed in PubMed, Medline, CINHAL, and Embase. Review methods Research was included if it was conducted by nurses, included data obtained in African countries or regions within the African continent, published in a peer-reviewed journal with an abstract, and included patient outcomes. Abstracts were independently reviewed for inclusion by two authors. The following data were extracted: countries of publication and study, study type and design, journal, language, and topics of research. Gaps in the literature were identified. Results Initially, 1091 papers were identified with a final sample of 73 articles meeting inclusion criteria. Studies used 12 designs, were published in 35 journals published in five countries (including two African countries); 29% of the research was published in a single journal (Curatonis). Research was mostly qualitative (57%) and included twenty countries in Africa (38%). There were 12 major topics of study, most often midwifery/maternal/child health (43%), patient experiences (38%), and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)/sexually transmitted infections (STIs) (36%). Conclusions Areas most often studied were associated with funding sources (e.g., a large influx of funds for HIV-related research). Major and common health care problems in African countries (e.g. infectious disease other than HIV, and noncommunicable diseases such as malnutrition, diarrheal disease, hypertension and diabetes) were not subjects of the published literature, indicating a clear gap between health care needs and problems and the focus of the majority of clinical nursing research. Additionally, the shortage of doctorally prepared nurses may contribute to the lack of clinical nursing and midwifery research in African countries.
Influence of Pretest Waiting Time and Duration of Induction on Kinesthetic Aftereffect

The influence of pretest hand-resting time and induction time on kinesthetic aftereffect was determined for 22 males and females. Aftereffect was assessed with the apparatus of Koehler and Dinnerst...
Protein secondary structure controlled with light and photoresponsive surfactants.

The interaction of a light-responsive azobenzene surfactant with bovine serum albumin (BSA) has been investigated as a means to examine photoreversible changes in protein secondary structure. The cationic azobenzene surfactant undergoes a reversible photoisomeriztion upon exposure to the appropriate wavelength of light, with the visible-light (trans) form being more hydrophobic and, thus, inducing a greater degree of protein unfolding than the UV-light (cis) form. Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy is used to provide quantitative information on the secondary structure elements in the protein (alpha-helices, beta-strands, beta-turns, and unordered domains). Comparing the secondary structure changes induced by light illumination in the presence of the photoresponsive surfactant with previous measurements of the tertiary structure of BSA obtained from small-angle neutron scattering (SANS) allows the three discrete conformation changes in BSA to be fully characterized. At low surfactant concentrations, an alpha-helix --> beta-structure rearrangement is observed as the tertiary structure of BSA changes from a heart-shaped to a distorted heart-shaped conformation. Intermediate surfactant concentrations lead to a dramatic decrease in the alpha-helix fraction in favor of unordered structures, which is accompanied by an unfolding of the C-terminal portion of the protein as evidenced from SANS. Further increases in photosurfactant concentration lead to a beta --> unordered transition with the protein adopting a highly elongated conformation in solution. Each of these protein conformational changes can be precisely and reversibly controlled with light illumination, as revealed through FT-IR spectra collected during repeated visible-light UV-light cycles.
Prediction of the formulation dependence of the glass transition temperatures of amine-epoxy copolymers using a QSPR based on the AM1 method.

A designer Quantitative Structure−Property Relationship, based upon molecular properties calculated using the AM1 semiempirical quantum mechanical method, was developed to predict the glass transition temperature of amine-cured epoxy resins based on the diglycidyl ether of bisphenol A. The QSPR (R2 = 0.9977) was generated using the regression analysis program, COmprehensive DEscriptors for Structural and Statistical Analysis. By applying an ad hoc treatment based on the elementary probability theory to the quantitative structure−property relationship analysis a method was developed for computing bulk polymer glass transition temperatures for stoichiometric and nonstoichiometric monomeric formulations. A model polymer was synthesized and found to validate our model predictions.
Lung transplantation for pediatric pulmonary hypertension

Abstract Lung transplantation is employed as ‘‘last or only’’ therapy for children with pulmonary hypertension; that is, when all other therapies have failed, or none is available. The pre-transplant evaluation includes exclusion of absolute contraindications to transplant, determination that are no other therapy is available, and education of the patient and family so that they may make an informed choice. Ideally, patients should be listed when their probability of 2-year survival without transplant is 50%. The choice of transplant procedure – single lung vs bilateral lung transplant, with or without concurrent heart transplant – is determined by a number of considerations including the indication for transplantation, the patient's surgical history, and patient size; similar considerations influence intra-operative management. Considerations in postoperative management include recognition of complications specific to lung or heart transplantation such as early graft dysfunction, right ventricular outflow tract obstruction, reperfusion injury of the lung with severe bronchorrhea, and fulminant graft failure due to viral infection, as well as the issues that are common to all children undergoing heart surgery with cardiopulmonary bypass. In the current era actuarial survival at 2 years is approximately 65%, and at 5 years, is 40%; median survival among those surviving the perioperative period is 6.8 years. When offered to appropriately selected patients, transplantation offers prolongation and improved quality of life.
A Formal Model for Autocatakinetic Systems

Self-organization as a concept has appeared in several arenas, including explanations of physical phenomena, biological systems, and intelligence. A guiding principle for self-organizing systems, especially at the level of intelligent systems, has not been settled upon. So-called autocatakinetic (ACK) systems attempt to provide such a principle through macroscopic thermodynamics but to date have not been formally defined. We attempt to extend ACK by developing a formal model commensurate with its defining properties.
In Situ Hybridization with Riboprobes: An Overview for Veterinary Pathologists

In situ hybridization using nonradioactively-labeled RNA probes is a technique that combines understanding of basic molecular biology and histopathologic interpretation. Recombinant or PCR technology can be used to produce probes that hybridize with a wide variety of cellular genes and infectious agents. Hybridization conditions can be optimized for each probe/target combination.
Development of nanostructured biocompatible materials for chemical and biological sensors

This research is focused on the fabrication of thin films followed by Surface Enhanced Raman Spectroscopy (SERS) testing of these films for various applications. One technique involves the mixture of nanoparticles with twophoton material to be used as an indicator dye. Another method involved embedding silver nanoparticles in a ceramic nano-membrane. The substrates were characterized by both Atom Force Microscopy (AFM) and Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM). We applied the nanostructured substrate to measure the SERS spectra of 10 -6 Mol/L Rhodomine 6G(Rh6G), e-coli bacteria and RDX explosive. Our results showed that silver coated ceramic membranes can serve as appropriate substrates to enhance Raman signals. In addition, we demonstrated that the in-house-made colloidal silver can work for enhancement of the Raman spectra for bacteria. We measured the Raman spectra of Rh6G molecules on a substrate absorbed by a nanofluid of silver. We observed several strong Raman bands – 613cm- 1 ,768 cm -1 ,1308cm -1 1356 cm -1 ,1510cm -1 , which correspond to Rh6G vibrational modes υ 53 ,υ6 5 ,υ1 15 ,υ 117 ,υ 146 respectively, using a ceramic membrane coated by silver. The Raman spectra of Rh6G absorbed by silver nanofluid showed strong enhancement of Raman bands 1175cm -1 and 1529cm -1 , 1590 cm -1 . Those correspond to vibrational frequency modes – υ 103 ,υ 151 , 152 . We also measured the Raman spectra of e-coli bacteria, both absorbed by silver nanofluid, and on nanostructured substrate. In addition, the Fourier Transfer Infrared Spectra (FTIR) of the bacteria was measured.
Calorimetric study of the smectic-A-smectic-C phase transition in liquid crystals.

High-resolution ac calorimetric measurements have been made on $\mathrm{azoxy}\ensuremath{-}4,{4}^{\ensuremath{'}}\ensuremath{-}\mathrm{di}\ensuremath{-}\mathrm{undecyl}\ensuremath{-}\ensuremath{\alpha}\ensuremath{-}\mathrm{methylcinnamate}$ (AMC-11), butyloxybenzylidene heptylaniline (4O.7), heptyloxybenzylidene hexylaniline (7O.6), and heptyloxybenzylidene butylaniline (7O.4). The heat capacity ${C}_{P}$ exhibits a sharp, asymmetric peak near the second-order smectic-$A$---smectic-$C$ transition. The ${C}_{P}$ values increase in the smectic-$C$ phase as the transition temperature ${T}_{c}$ is approached and then decrease abruptly at ${T}_{c}$. These data are well described by a mean-field Landau model and are not consistent with the heliumlike critical behavior expected from the de Gennes model. It is also shown that it is very difficult to distinguish between meanfield and $\mathrm{XY}$ critical behavior on the basis of data obtained only in the smectic-$C$ phase.
Xenograft seeding of Dacron grafts in dogs.

The benefit of autologous endothelial cell seeding in dogs has been widely accepted. This experiment seeks to determine if a similar effect accompanies the use of xenograft (porcine) endothelial cells in dogs. Thirty-two mongrel dogs underwent thoracoabdominal aortic bypass with 25- to 30-cm segments of double velour Dacron 8-mm grafts. Endothelial cell seeding was performed with whole blood suspensions of either autologous endothelial cells (Group I) or heterologous endothelial cells from pigs (Group II). Cell-free culture medium was added to whole blood for preclotting in unseeded control animals (Group III). Ten animals in each group were sacrificed at 30 days and all grafts were patent. Thrombus-free surface areas were Group I = 61.7 (±6.4%, SEM); Group II = 53.2 (±6.8%, SEM); and Group III 42.2 (±8.0%, SEM). There was a significant difference between autologous-seeded and unseeded grafts (P < 0.04). Endothelialization was confirmed by scanning and transmission electron microscopy in all groups but was better in both seeded groups: Group I—910 grafts, Group II—810 grafts, and Group III—410 grafts. Factor VIII immunofluorescent staining confirmed the presence of endothelium on selected grafts in each group. These results raise questions concerning the proposed mechanism of endothelial seeding since xenograft cells seem to facilitate healing in the canine model. If heterograft cells can be effective, it may not be necessary to harvest cells from the recipient in order to achieve the benefits of seeding.
Support Vector Machines Implemented On a Graphics Processing Unit

Graphics Processing Units (GPUs) are inexpensive, commercial vector processors developed as engines for high-speed computer games. By substituting geophysical data for color values in arrays that are designed to compute images, GPUs can be used as parallel scientific processors. Support Vector Machines (SVMs) are computer learning algorithms that can be used to emulate non-linear geophysical inversion. SVMs depend on making multiple comparisons between examples of input data. These comparisons can be made in parallel on the GPU, significantly speeding up the algorithm. GPUs only support single precision, however, and are limited by their memory size. This poster presents results of a preliminary study showing that speedups of as great as 250x can be achieved using a GPU to make the comparisons necessary to train an SVM with a nearly 3000 example training set of input vectors with 3000 elements each. Because only the comparison part of the SVM algorithm was implemented on the GPU, this work can likely be generalized to other processes useful for Geophysics that depend on making comparisons , such as correlation and convolution.
Selective epitaxial growth of silicon in a barrel reactor

Abstract Selective epitaxial growth (SEG) of silicon allows isolation among devices to be vastly improved and offers numerous possibilities for novel device structures. In this work, selective epitaxial silicon deposition is carried out in a radiantly heated barrel reactor from SiH 2 Cl 2 H 2 HCl gas mixtures. Substrate temperatures are between 850 and 1000°C while reactor pressures are between 25 and 100 torr. All patterned silicon substrates are 3 in. diameter n-type polished wafers of (100) crystal orientation masked with a thermally grown oxide, 0.08–0.87 μm thick. A new quantity that characterizes several features of silicon SEG in such systems is proposed. This quantity is the ratio of inlet reactor partial pressures P 2 HCl / P DCS . The SEG rate of silicon is found to decrease monotonically (and almost linearly) with increasing P 2 HCl / P DCS increases. The apparent activation energy of silicon deposition from SiH 2 Cl 2 (DCS) is found to be 33 kcal/mol, while the overall apparent activation energy of silicon SEG is found to be between 50 and 85 kcal/mol for the conditions studied. A detailed mathematical model of SEG in a barrel reactor is also presented. It includes all mass, energy and momentum equations coupled with the special geometry and inlet and exhaust configurations of this reactor. Predictions from the mathematical model developed are shown to be in satisfactory agreement with data obtained in the radiantly heated barrel reactor used.
Recurrent Abdominal Pain

Recurrent abdominal pain (RAP), as described in Apley’s (1975) seminal work, refers to a constellation of symptoms characterized by at least three episodes of abdominal pain, severe enough to interfere with psychosocial functioning, over a period of at least 3 months. In addition to the patient’s own distress, RAP in children and adolescents often engenders feelings of frustration among family members and treating practitioners. In fact, the difficulties of assessing, diagnosing, and treating this ailment are considerable.
Prolactin-releasing factor (PRF) in porcine hypothalamic extract distinct from TRH.

Extracts of porcine hypothalamic fragments (HF) bring about the release of prolactin when injected into estrogen-progesterone pretreated male rats. To determine the extent to which this prolactin-releasing activity (PRA) is attributable to thyrotropin-releasing hormone (TRH) and/or vasopressin (VP), (both hormones capable of releasing prolactin in this preparation), PRA was assayed following destruction of TRH and VP by incubation in rat serum, and after separation on Sephadex G-25 columns. Acetic acid (2 N) extracts of HF contain 22 to 27 ng TRH and 650 to 1000 ng of VP per HF as determined by immunoassay. Incubation for 1 h in fresh rat serum degraded 91 to 99% of both TRH and VP. PRA fell after incubation, but was still detectable, indicating residual activity that resisted degradation. Prolactin release responses to HF extracts and to TRH were log-dose dependent, but had different activity slopes. The minimal detected dose of TRH which released prolactin was 10 ng, while minimal effective doses of ser...
Modification by beet and cabbage diets of aflatoxin B1-induced rat plasma α-foetoprotein elevation, hepatic tumorigenesis, and mutagenicity of urine

Abstract Weanling male Fischer rats were fed a purified diet or diets containing 25% (w/w) freeze-dried ground beets or cabbage with or without 1 ppm aflatoxin B 1 (AFB 1 ) for 26 wk. In 3–7 wk the cabbage diet diminished, while the beet diet enhanced AFB 1 -induced plasma α-foetoprotein (AFP) elevation. When the experiment was extended to 42 wk by maintaining the animals on the purified (basal) diet for a further 16 wk the rats that had consumed AFB 1 in the beet diet had 72 ± 14 tumours/liver (mean surface diameter of tumours, 6·13 ± 4·69 mm); animals that had been given AFB 1 in the control diet had 30 ± 16 tumours/liver (mean surface diameter, 4·36 ± 3·16 mm); rats that had been given AFB 1 in the cabbage diet had 13 ± 5 tumours/liver (mean surface diameter, 4·28 ± 2·89 mm). In the Salmonella/ mammalian microsomal test, urine from rats fed AFB 1 with beets caused significantly ( P Salmonella typhimurium strain TA98 than did urine from rats fed AFB 1 with purified or cabbage diets. The beet- and cabbage-containing diets had no effect on the plasma AFP concentration, hepatic tumorigenesis, or the mutagenicity of urine in rats receiving no AFB 1 . The evidence suggests that non-nutrient components of common vegetables may influence the response to chemical carcinogens, and that AFP determinations are useful in the rapid identification of dietary factors that modify carcinogenesis.
The changing angiographic appearance of an arteriovenous malformation after subarachnoid hemorrhage

The changing angiographic appearance of a cerebral arteriovenous malformation (AVM) illustrated hemodynamic changes that can occur following subarachnoid hemorrhage and antifibrinolytic therapy. Decreased size of this lesion suggested thrombosis of the AVM. This appearance actually represented a transient, vasospastic phenomenon which reversed with time. Although the AVM underwent significant changes acutely, little changed in the long term.
Clinical Usefulness of ¹⁸F-FDG PET/CT for the Detection of Infections of Unknown Origin in Patients Undergoing Maintenance Hemodialysis.

Patients with end-stage renal disease undergoing maintenance hemodialysis (MHD) are highly prone to infections. The potential clinical usefulness of 18F-FDG PET/CT for the detection of infections of unknown origin in this patient population remains unclear. This study was designed to investigate this issue. Methods: Between October 2011 and July 2014, a total of 104 adult MHD patients with sepsis underwent 18F-FDG PET/CT for the detection of unknown infection foci. Follow-up was continued until October 2014. Positive 18F-FDG PET/CT findings and mortality served as the main outcome measures. Results: Of the 104 study patients, 73 (70.2%) had positive 18F-FDG PET/CT findings, and a total of 95 major infection foci were identified. Eighteen patients (24.6%) had at least 2 infection foci on 18F-FDG PET/CT scans. Seven (53.8%) of the 13 patients with primary vascular access–related infections had concurrent metastatic foci. Twenty-eight patients (26.9%) had their treatments modified by 18F-FDG PET/CT results. Multivariate logistic regression analysis demonstrated that low hemoglobin and high C-reactive protein levels at diagnosis were the independent predictors of positive 18F-FDG PET/CT results. Twenty-seven patients (26.0%) died during their hospital stay, and 24 of them had positive 18F-FDG PET/CT findings (P = 0.014). Positive 18F-FDG PET/CT results were an independent predictor of mortality (hazard ratio, 3.896; 95% confidence interval, 1.039–14.613; P = 0.044). Conclusion: Our results suggest that 18F-FDG PET/CT may be clinically useful for detecting occult infection foci in end-stage renal disease patients undergoing MHD. In this population, positive 18F-FDG PET/CT findings may lead to a significant change in clinical management and independently predict mortality.
Interpolating between fuzzy rules using improper S-implications

A strong implication operator (S-implication) is a fuzzy material implication operator defined in terms of a t-norm and a strong negation as a generalization of the classical equivalence between ''IF A then B'' and ''Not(A and not B)''. This paper is concerned with a family of improper S-implications derived from an extension of the Schweizer-Sklar family of parameterized improper t-norms defined over (-~,+1]. Analysis of fuzzy and defuzzified interpolation outputs includes proper and improper fuzzy set outputs and exact defuzzified solutions for important special cases such as Kleene-Dienes, Reichenbach, and Lukasiewicz implications. The effect of the Schweizer-Sklar parameter on interpolation between fuzzy points is outlined. The final section of the paper illustrates the use of the method with two examples, one in political geography and the other in rule-based control.
Functions of the Nonsense-Mediated mRNA Decay Pathway in Drosophila Development

Nonsense-mediated mRNA decay (NMD) is a cellular surveillance mechanism that degrades transcripts containing premature translation termination codons, and it also influences expression of certain wild-type transcripts. Although the biochemical mechanisms of NMD have been studied intensively, its developmental functions and importance are less clear. Here, we describe the isolation and characterization of Drosophila “photoshop” mutations, which increase expression of green fluorescent protein and other transgenes. Mapping and molecular analyses show that photoshop mutations are loss-of-function mutations in the Drosophila homologs of NMD genes Upf1, Upf2, and Smg1. We find that Upf1 and Upf2 are broadly active during development, and they are required for NMD as well as for proper expression of dozens of wild-type genes during development and for larval viability. Genetic mosaic analysis shows that Upf1 and Upf2 are required for growth and/or survival of imaginal cell clones, but this defect can be overcome if surrounding wild-type cells are eliminated. By contrast, we find that the PI3K-related kinase Smg1 potentiates but is not required for NMD or for viability, implying that the Upf1 phosphorylation cycle that is required for mammalian and Caenorhabditis elegans NMD has a more limited role during Drosophila development. Finally, we show that the SV40 3′ UTR, present in many Drosophila transgenes, targets the transgenes for regulation by the NMD pathway. The results establish that the Drosophila NMD pathway is broadly active and essential for development, and one critical function of the pathway is to endow proliferating imaginal cells with a competitive growth advantage that prevents them from being overtaken by other proliferating cells.
Catenary deformations of inextensible networks

A network formed from two initially orthogonal families of cables is supported at its edges and allowed to sag under its own weight. The net is idealized as a continuum formed from inextensible fibers, with no shear resistance. Several families of exact solutions are exhibited, all involving catenaries in one way or another. These solutions may be useful in connection with perturbation analyses of boundary-value problems.
Cd tolerance and accumulation in the aquatic macrophyte, Chara australis: potential use for charophytes in phytoremediation.

We investigated the potential use of the alga Chara australis (R. Br.) forphytore mediation of Cd-contaminated sediments in aquatic systems. Chara tolerated up to 20 mg added Cd (kg soil)−1 in laboratory culture. Chlorophyll a and b levels were not affected even at Cd concentrations that suppressed growth. Levels of glutathione were suppressed at 2–35 mg added Cd (kg soil)−1 to 200–350 nmol GSH (g DW)−1, while control levels were 660 nmol GSH (g DW)−1). Histochemical studies showed Cd occurred throughout cell walls and cytoplasm in plants grown in 5–20 mg Cd (kg soil)−1. Quantification using ICP-MS showed the maximum concentration in shoots was 72 mg Cd (kg DW)−1 at 35 mg added Cd (kg soil)−1, while the maximum in rhizoids was 116 mg Cd (kg DW)−1 at 25 mg added Cd (kg soil)−1. The bioconcentration factor (BCF, concentration in plant/concentration in soil) exceeded 1.0, the critical value for hyperaccumulators, for shoots exposed to 35 mg Cd (kg soil)−1 and rhizoids exposed to ≥25 mg Cd (kg soil)−1. Transl...
Income and Risk of Mortality after Spinal Cord Injury

Abstract Krause JS, Saunders LL, DeVivo MJ. Income and risk of mortality after spinal cord injury. Objective To evaluate the association of household income and formal education with risk of mortality after spinal cord injury (SCI). Design Cohort study. Setting Twenty hospitals designated as Model SCI Systems of care in the United States. Participants Adults (N=8027) with traumatic SCI, seen in one of the Model SCI Systems, who had at least 1 follow-up assessment between 1995 and 2006. All participants were at least 1 year postinjury at the time of assessment. There were 57,957 person-years and 1036 deaths. The follow-up period started with the first assessment between 1995 and 2006 and went until either the date of death or March 2009. Interventions Not applicable. Main Outcome Measures Mortality status was determined by routine follow-up supplemented by using the Social Security Death Index. A logistic regression model was developed to estimate the chance of dying in any given year. Results Educational status and income were significantly predictive of mortality after adjusting for age, sex, race, and severity of injury. Compared with those with household income of $75,000 or greater, the odds of mortality was greater for those who had income between $25,000 and $75,000 (1.61) and still higher for those with less than $25,000 a year (2.41). Life expectancy differed more as a function of household income than the economic subscale of the Craig Handicap Assessment and Reporting Technique. Conclusion There was a clear gradation in survival based on familial income (high, middle, low), not just an effect of the lowest income.
Managing drug interactions in the patient with aspergillosis

Drug interactions are a common and recurring problem in immunocompromised patients with aspergillosis. While the introduction of new antifungals has expanded opportunities for lowering drug toxicity, virtually all antifungal regimens still carry the risk for pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic interactions. Drug interactions affecting the pharmacokinetics of antifungals used in the treatment of aspergillosis, or interactions that decrease the metabolism/elimination of a drug with a narrow index for efficacy (e.g. anti-retroviral therapy) or safety (e.g. immunosuppressants, chemotherapy) have the greatest potential to cause serious harm. Additionally, azole-based treatment regimens for aspergillosis carry a risk for uncommon, but potentially life-threatening, interactions that affect cardiac conduction leading to severe tachyarrythmias such as Torsades des Pointes. Clinical diagnosis of antifungal drug interactions in immunocompromised patients remains a challenge, as adverse sequelae are often masked by infection or other drug therapies (especially chemotherapy). Therefore, a high index of suspicion and a proactive, multidisciplinary approach is essential for preventing drug interactions in patients with aspergillosis. Improvements in laboratory support (i.e. patient pharmacogenetic profiling, expanded use of serum drug level monitoring) will become increasingly important for managing drug interactions patients on complex treatment regimens.
Unsupervised data processing for classifier-based speech translator

Concept classification has been used as a translation method and has shown notable benefits within the suite of speech-to-speech translation applications. However, the main bottleneck in achieving an acceptable performance with such classifiers is the cumbersome task of annotating large amounts of training data. Any attempt to develop a method to assist in, or to completely automate, data annotation needs a distance measure to compare sentences based on the concept they convey. Here, we introduce a new method of sentence comparison that is motivated from the translation point of view. In this method the imperfect translations produced by a phrase-based statistical machine translation system are used to compare the concepts of the source sentences. Three clustering methods are adapted to support the concept-base distance. These methods are applied to prepare groups of paraphrases and use them as training sets in concept classification tasks. The statistical machine translation is also used to enhance the training data for the classifier which is crucial when such data are sparse. Experiments show the effectiveness of the proposed methods.
Cochlear deoxyglucose uptake: relationship to stimulus intensity.

Abstract The relationship between stimulus intensity and the uptake of 2-deoxyglucose (2-DG) in the cochlea of the gerbil was studied using an autoradiographic technique. In silence, incorporation of labeled 2-DG into stria vascularis and the spiral ligament was significantly higher than for other inner ear structures. With increasing intensity of noise exposure, 2-DG uptake in the spiral ganglion and VIIIth nerve increased dramatically when compared to the lateral wall structures. In contrast, relative 2-DG uptake in the organ of Corti was much less affected by noise exposure. Only at 105 dB SPL, the highest intensity tested, was a modest but statistically significant increase observed in the sensory epithelium. The small change in relative 2-DG uptake observed in the organ of Corti during acoustic stimulation is consistent with Davis' (1965: Quant. Biol. 30, 181–190) battery model of the cochlear transduction process. Alternatively, a larger change may have occurred, but been restricted to a small portion of the epithelium, such as one or both populations of hair cells.
Systems concept for speech technology application in general aviation

The application potential of voice recognition and synthesis circuits for general aviation, single-pilot IFR (SPIFR) situations is examined. The viewpoint of the pilot was central to workload analyses and assessment of the effectiveness of the voice systems. A twin-engine, high performance general aviation aircraft on a cross-country fixed route was employed as the study model. No actual control movements were considered and other possible functions were scored by three IFR-rated instructors. The SPIFR was concluded helpful in alleviating visual and manual workloads during take-off, approach and landing, particularly for data retrieval and entry tasks. Voice synthesis was an aid in alerting a pilot to in-flight problems. It is expected that usable systems will be available within 5 yr.
OpenHTML: designing a transitional web editor for novices

We describe the initial design rationale and early findings from studies of a web editor for beginners called openHTML. We explain our strategy of transitional design that views web editors as a part of a complex socio-technical system that spans multiple tools, practices, and actors. Our goal is to create a toolkit that can engage beginners in meaningful activities now and prepare them for more sophisticated activities in the future.
Logistics of Radioimmunotherapy with Yttrium 90 Ibritumomab Tiuxetan (Zevalin)

Abstract Radioimmunotherapy is a promising new therapeutic option for the treatment of B-cell non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. Several monoclonal antibody and radionuclide conjugates, including I-131 tositumomab and Y-90 ibritumomab, have been investigated in clinical trials. Yttrium 90 ibritumomab tiuxetan (Zevalin; Biogen Idec Inc, Cambridge, MA) is indicated for the treatment of patients with relapsed or refractory low-grade, follicular, or transformed B-cell non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, including patients with rituximab-refractory follicular non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. The ibritumomab tiuxetan regimen requires coordination of a multidisciplinary team on which the nuclear medicine physician (or radiation oncologist) plays a major role. The nuclear medicine physician (or radiation oncologist) is responsible for overseeing the administration of the radioimmunoconjugates and for interpreting the imaging scans to determine the expected or altered biodistribution of the radioimmunoconjugate.
Implications of Research on Assays to Characterize Thyroid Toxicants

Many aspects of thyroid endocrinology are very well conserved across vertebrate taxa. These aspects include thyroid hormone chemistry, the mechanism of its synthesis, and the proteins involved in these processes. In addition, the system by which the hormone is delived from the thyroid gland to target cells, including transport and regulation within the hypothalamicpituitary-thyroid (HPT) axis, and the proteins that regulate the different components of this delivery system appear to be highly conserved across the vertebrates. Finally, the receptors that mediate thyroid hormone action and the roles thyroid hormone plays are very similar among the vertebrates. Thus, the goal of this chapter is to provide a brief synopsis of the literature supporting existing screening and testing strategies in different vertebrate taxa, and to provide insight into the strengths, weaknesses, and likely changes over time. It was determined during this review that, because of the complexity of the thyroid system, it is unlikely that current in vitro assays for thyroid toxicity will be able to sufficiently replace in vivo assays for thyroid toxicants. However, the in vitro assays serve an important purpose in providing mode of action information and could provide potential screening tools, and should continue to be developed for use. Moreover, because in vivo assays are added on to preexisting reproductive or developmental screens and tests, there are no additional animals required for the in vivo assays. Specific in vitro assays were identified for development, including the thyroid receptor binding and activation assays, and in vitro assays to evaluate thyroid hormone action. Some in vivo endpoints suggested for further research included neuronal differentiation and migration, measures of histogenesis, and measures for thyroid gland thyroid hormone content, which may be more sensitive indicators of TSH stimulation. The most commonly used endpoints currently used to monitor thyroid function are thyroid hormone levels (T3 and T4), TSH, thyroid gland weight, and thyroid histology. Thyroid endocrinology is rapidly advancing and new discoveries will certainly warrant incorporation into future assays. The development of additional endpoints that measure thyroid hormone’s actions peripheral to the HPT axis and the development of new reagents for nonmammalian vertebrate species will significantly improve the ability of today’s assays to detect chemicals that disrupt the thyroid system in multiple vertebrate species. It is our hope that this series of thyroid articles will provide regulators and research scientists the information needed for each individual to identify the assays and endpoints most suited for their specific purposes.
Changes in weight, total fat, percent body fat, and central-to-peripheral fat ratio associated with injectable and oral contraceptive use.

Objective The purpose of this study was to determine changes in bodyweight and composition that result from hormonal contraception. Study Design Dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry was performed at baseline and every 6 months for 3 years for 703 women (African American, 200; white, 247; Hispanic, 256) who were beginning the use of oral contraception (OC; n=245), depot medroxyprogesterone acetate (DMPA; n=240), or nonhormonal contraception (NH; n=218). DMPA discontinuers were observed for up to 2 years to examine the reversibility of the observed changes. Results Over 36 months, DMPA users increased their weight (+5.1 kg), body fat (+4.1 kg), percent body fat (+3.4%), and central-to-peripheral fat ratio (+0.1) more than OC and NH users ( P Conclusion Bodyweight and fat significantly increase with the use of DMPA. After discontinuation of DMPA, some decrease in bodyweight and fat occurs when NH is used.
Spatial Filter Approach for Evaluation of the Surface Laplacian of the Electroencephalogram and Magnetoencephalogram

The surface Laplacian is a technique that has been utilized to improve the spatial resolution of the electroencepha- logram ~EEG! and the magnetoencephalogram ~MEG!. We in- vestigate the amount of improvement to the spatial resolution afforded by the surface Laplacian by examining the spatial filters that describe the relationship between cortical current sources and the surface Laplacian. The surface Laplacian spa- tial filters extend into higher spatial frequencies than do raw signal spatial filters, particularly for EEG Laplacian spatial fil- ters, indicating that substantial improvement in spatial resolu- tion is possible. However, the response of the surface Laplacian operation to the nature and amount of noise in the raw EEG and MEG signals is of paramount importance. Spatially corre- lated noise, coupled with uncorrelated noise, requires additional regularization of inverse spatial filters resulting in a decrease in spatial resolution. Substantial improvements in spatial resolu- tion may be obtained using the surface Laplacian techniques as long as correlated noise levels are small and raw signals have relatively high signal-to-noise ratios. © 2001 Biomedical En- gineering Society. @DOI: 10.1114/1.1352642#
Live Specimens More Effective than World Wide Web for Learning Plant Material

The World Wide Web and other computer-based media are new teaching resources for plant identification. The purpose of the experiments reported here was to test whether learning plant identification for woody and herbaceous plant material over the web was as effective, more effective, or preferred by undergraduate students when compared with instruction in the greenhouse. Students were exposed to web and greenhouse instruction (Exp. 1, N = 47; Exp. 2, N = 225) or they were randomly assigned to web or greenhouse learning conditions (Exp. 2, N = 225; Exp. 3, N = 224). The dependent measure was accuracy on identification tests of live specimens in the greenhouse. In each case, mean scores of participants receiving live instruction were significantly higher than those receiving web instruction. Questionnaire data revealed that students preferred live instruction over web instruction, that students perceived live instruction as superior to web instruction, that they preferred to learn new plant material in the classroom rather than on the web, and that web learning was frustrating. The findings indicate that web instruction is not in general superior to live instruction for plant identification, when students are required to use web instruction.
A dynamic graph algorithm for the highly dynamic network problem

A recent flooding algorithm (R. O'Dell and R. Wattenhofer, 2005) guaranteed correctness for networks with dynamic edges and fixed nodes. The algorithm provided a partial answer to the highly dynamic network (HDN) problem, defined as the problem of devising a reliable message-passing algorithm over a HDN, which is a network - or a network mobility model - where edges and nodes can enter and leave the network almost arbitrarily. In this paper, we relax the flooding algorithms' assumptions by removing the requirement that the network stays connected at all time, and extend the algorithm to solve the HDN problem where dynamic nodes are also involved. The extended algorithm is reliable: it guarantees message-passing to all the destination nodes and terminates within a time bounded by a polynomial function of the maximum message transit time between adjacent nodes, and the maximum number of nodes in the network.
Anion capture and sensing with cationic boranes: on the synergy of Coulombic effects and onium ion-centred Lewis acidity

Stimulated by the growing importance and recognized toxicity of anions such as fluoride, cyanide and azides, we have, in the past few years, developed a family of Lewis acidic triarylboranes that can be used for the complexation of these anions in organic and protic solvents, including water. A central aspect of our approach lies in the decoration of the boranes with peripheral ammonium, phosphonium, sulfonium stibonium or telluronium groups. The presence of these cationic groups provides a Coulombic drive for the capture of the anion, leading to boranes that can be used in aqueous solutions where anion hydration and/or protonation are usually competitive. The anion affinity of these boranes can be markedly enhanced by narrowing the separation between the anion binding site (i.e. the boron atom) and the onium ion. In such systems, the latent Lewis acidity of the onium ion also plays a role as manifested by the formation of B–X→E (E = P, S, Sb, or Te; X = F, CN or N3) chelate motifs that provide additional stability to the resulting complexes. These effects, which are maximum in stibonium and telluronium boranes, show that the Lewis acidity of heavy onium ions can be exploited for anion coordination and capture. The significance of these advances is illustrated by the development of applications in anion sensing, fluorination chemistry and 18F radiolabeling for positron emission tomography.
Pregnancy-specific stress, prenatal health behaviors, and birth outcomes.

Objective: Stress in pregnancy predicts earlier birth and lower birth weight. The authors investigated whether pregnancy-specific stress contributes uniquely to birth outcomes compared with general stress, and whether prenatal health behaviors explain this association. Design: Three structured prenatal interviews (N 279) assessing state anxiety, perceived stress, life events, pregnancy-specific stress, and health behaviors. Main Outcome Measures: Gestational age at delivery, birth weight, preterm delivery (37 weeks), and low birth weight (2,500 g). Results: A latent pregnancy-specific stress factor predicted birth outcomes better than latent factors representing state anxiety, perceived stress, or life event stress, and than a latent factor constructed from all stress measures. Controlling for obstetric risk, pregnancy-specific stress was associated with smoking, caffeine consumption, and unhealthy eating, and inversely associated with healthy eating, vitamin use, exercise, and gestational age at delivery. Cigarette smoking predicted lower birth weight. Clinically-defined birth outcomes were predicted by cigarette smoking and pregnancy-specific stress. Conclusion: Pregnancy-specific stress contributed directly to preterm delivery and indirectly to low birth weight through its association with smoking. Pregnancyspecific stress may be a more powerful contributor to birth outcomes than general stress.
Neurohypophysial Principles in Rats Homozygous and Heterozygous for Hypothalamic Diabetes Insipidus (Brattleboro Strain)

Extracts of pituitary glands and hypothalami from rats with hereditary hypothalamic diabetes insipidus (DI), from rats heterozygous for the DI trait, and from normal rats have been assayed for neurohypophysial principles. Eleven of 12 rats with DI appeared to have no vasopressin in their pituitaries and little or none in their hypothalami. Their pituitary content of oxytocin was about 1/3 of normal. In heterozygotes, vasopressin content was reduced: to about 2/3 of normal in pituitaries and to 1/7 of normal in hypothalami. Pituitary content of oxytocin was normal in heterozygotes. The data strongly suggest that DI rats have an absolute, and heterozygotes a partial, genetic defect for synthesizing vasopressin. Oxytocin synthesis appears to be unimpaired in both DI and heterozygous rats. (Endocrinology 77: 701, 1965)
Ultra-Sensitive Duffing Behavior of a Microcantilever

We investigate the properties of an electrostatically driven microcantilever exhibiting duffing-like behavior using harmonic detection of resonance. Its potential use as a highly sensitive sensing platform is discussed. We find high sensitivity of this duffing system near its bistability point in a gaseous environment. The response of the higher harmonics of the measured charge on the cantilever induced by an ac voltage that drives the counter electrode is investigated. In particular, we follow the duffing behavior at the higher harmonics (up to the sixth harmonic) as a function of gap distance between the cantilever and counter electrode. To our knowledge, this work represents the first experimental demonstration of sensing a pressure change using the duffing behavior.
The Hepatitis C Virus (HCV) NS4B RNA Binding Inhibitor Clemizole Is Highly Synergistic with HCV Protease Inhibitors

Background We recently identified a compound, clemizole hydrochloride, that inhibits NS4B’s RNA binding and HCV replication. Although significant, clemizole’s antiviral effect is moderate (8μM EC50 against an HCV-2a clone). We hypothesized that combination of clemizole with other anti-HCV agents can increase the antiviral effect over that achieved with each drug alone, and could also decrease emergence of viral resistance.
Bakhtin for Preschool Teachers

Book Review: White, E. J. (2015). Introducing dialogic pedagogy: Provocations for the early years: Routledge.I am impressed by the depth of White’s understanding of Bakhtin’s work and by her innovated uses of Bakhtinian concepts such as answerability, becoming, aesthetics, authorship and polyphony. White’s book represents a very important effort to bring these concepts to early childhood education practitioners. In this review I discuss White’s ways of making these Bakhtinian concepts accessible to ECE teachers and I provide the necessary context for appreciating the significance of White’s contribution.
An Approach to Reducing Accounting Costs for Small Businesses

Many small privately-held businesses (referred to as small businesses henceforth) prepare financial statements for use by external parties such as banks. Often the small businesses do not have the expertise to prepare these financial statements, instead employing independent certified public accountants (CPAs) for the task. A CPA preparing financial statements in this manner must attach a report stating the degree of responsibility he/she is accepting /or the statements. Modification of this report results if the statements are not in conformance with generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP). Owners of small businesses generally elect to have their financial statements produced following GAAP to avoid the modification of the report. This has become a costly decision, however, as the complexity of GAAP has increased the purpose of this article is to help small business owners reduce the cost of preparing their financial statements. The article begins with a discussion of the importance of selecting the right CPA to produce the financial statements. The article then reviews the CPA's level of association with financial statements and the reports that result therefrom. Finally, the article closes with possible reduction of accounting costs through the use of other bases of accounting.