cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Why France Spends Less Than the United States on Drugs: A Comparative Study of Drug Pricing and Pricing Regulation.

Policy Points Spending on prescription drugs is much higher per capita in the United States than in most other industrialized nations, including France. Lower prescription drug spending in France is due to different approaches to managing drug prices, volume of prescribing, and global health budgets. Linking a drug's price to value both at the launch of the drug and over its lifetime is key to controlling spending. Regulations on prescription volume and global spending complement the interventions on prices. If the United States adopted the French approach to regulating drug pricing, Medicare could potentially save billions of dollars annually on prescription drug spending. Context Prescription drug spending per capita in the United States is higher than in most other industrialized countries. Policymakers seeking to lower drug spending often suggest benchmarking prices against other countries, including France, which spends half as much as the United States per capita on prescription drugs. Because differences in drug prices may result from how markets are organized in each nation, we sought to directly compare drug prices and pricing regulations between the United States and France. Methods For the six brand-name drugs with the highest gross expenditures in Medicare Part D in 2017, we compared the price dynamics in France and the United States between 2010 and 2018 and analyzed associations between price changes in each country and key regulatory events. We also comprehensively reviewed US and French laws and regulations related to drug pricing. Findings Prices for the six drugs studied were higher in the United States than in France. In 2018, if Medicare had paid French prices for the brand-name drugs in our cohort, the agency would have saved $5.1 billion. We identified 12 factors that explain why the United States spends more than France on drugs, including variations in unit prices and the volume of prescriptions, driven by use of health technology assessment and value-based pricing in France. Conclusions Key drivers of lower drug spending in France compared to the United States are that the French government regulates drug prices when products are launched and prohibits substantial price increases after launch. The regulation of prescription drugs in France is governed by rules that can inform discussions of US prescription drug policy and potential Medicare price negotiations.
Substance Use Disorders and Behavioral Addictions During the COVID-19 Pandemic and COVID-19-Related Restrictions

COVID-19 was first identified in Wuhan, China in December of 2019 and appeared in the United States one month later (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2020). Between the onset of the pandemic and January 13, 2021, over 92 million people have tested positive for the virus and over 1.9 million people have died globally (Worldometer, 2021). Virtually every country in the world has been impacted by this virus. Beginning in March 2020, many U.S state governments enforced a “quarantine” to respond to the growing health crisis. Citizens were required to remain at home; schools, restaurants, and non-essential businesses were forced to close, and large gatherings were prohibited. Americans’ lives were transformed in a span of days as daily routines were interrupted and people were shuttered indoors. Mounting fear and unpredictability coupled with widespread unemployment and social isolation escalated anxiety and impacted the mental health of millions across the globe. Most (53%) U.S adults reported that the coronavirus outbreak has had a negative impact on their mental health, including inducing or exacerbating use of alcohol, drugs, gambling and overeating as coping mechanisms (Hamel et al., 2020). In this paper, we will examine substance use and addictive behaviors that have been used to manage the stress and uncertainty wrought by the COVID-19 pandemic. We review the changing treatment landscape as therapy pivoted online and telemedicine became the norm.
Vocal Fold Cyst Formation after Photoangiolytic KTP Laser Treatment of Early Glottic Cancer

Objective:The incidence of post-operative glottic cyst (POGC) formation in patients treated with transoral laser microsurgery with potassium-titanyl-phosphate laser (TLM-KTP) photoablation of early...
Transient over-voltage analysis of the transmission system that renewable energy generation delivered through multi-HVDC

With the rapid development of renewable energy generation (REG) and HVDC projects, a large amount of renewable energy power is sent through single HVDC, or even multiple HVDCs. In this application scenario, the transient over-voltage at the sending-end of HVDC, caused by commutation failure or a blocking fault of HVDC, is the primary constraint on the HVDC operating power level. This paper analyses the transient over-voltage risk of the transmission system, that REG delivered through multiple HVDCs, and its mechanism is proposed. It is pointed out that multiple HVDCs having both same sending-end and receiving-end, or adjacent HVDCs having same sending-end and meanwhile the sending-end grid is weak, will increases the risk of transient over-voltage. Based on the short-circuit ratio and the multi-HVDC short-circuit ratio, a simplified practical calculation method of the transient over-voltage of the transmission system with REG delivered through multiple HVDCs is proposed. Finally, through simulation, the correctness of the above conclusions is verified.
Design Principles and Optimization Considerations of a High Frequency Transformer in GaN Based 1 MHz 2.8 kW LLC Resonant Converter with over 99% Efficiency

LLC resonant converter is widely used for isolated dc-dc power conversion applications due to its soft switching characteristics and simple structure. With the help of wide bandgap (WBG) devices, the switching frequency can be pushed to MHz range and the transformer loss becomes a more critical factor for the efficiency of the whole LLC converter. The high frequency effects, such as skin effect, proximity effect and fringing effect, make the transformer design even more challenging. Many research have been performed to evaluate core loss and copper loss from calculation, simulation or direct measurement in specific tester circuits. However, they are different from real circuit conditions. In this paper, the design principles and optimization considerations for the transformer in MHz LLC converter are presented. An accurate test-based method for core loss and copper loss estimation is proposed. Based on the proposed method, several optimization considerations are provided. To verify the optimized transformer design and its loss prediction method, a GaN based 1 MHz/2.8 kW LLC converter prototype is built, which can achieve 99.04% peak efficiency.
Jump v. Los Angeles: Removing Platforms Further From Democratic Control?

In March 2020, Jump, Uber’s escooter subsidiary, sued the Los Angeles Department of Transportation over a rule that requires the company to share realtime location data about its escooters with the city government. Jump argues that the rule operates in practice as a warrantless administrative search. It also argues that all the data it collects from its users are part of its business records and is thus its private property. This Essay argues that a ruling recognizing that all of the data collected by platforms are their property, and that all data requests are searches, would further insulate platforms from democratic and regulatory control at a time when our era of informational capitalism is already characterized by remarkable platform power. Data sharing programs, however, can be designed in ways that are privacy aware and compliant with current Fourth Amendment doctrine; this Essay briefly discusses how.
The 27-day rotational variations in total solar irradiance observations: From SORCE/TIM, ACRIMSAT/ACRIM III, and SOHO/VIRGO

Abstract During the last decade, observations from SORCE (Solar Radiation and Climate Experiment)/TIM (Total Irradiance Monitor), ACRIMSAT (Active Cavity Radiometer Irradiance Monitor Satellite)/ACRIM III, and SOHO (Solar and Heliospheric Observatory)/VIRGO (Variability of IRradiance and Gravity Oscillations Sun PhotoMeter) provided Total Solar Irradiance (TSI) measurements with unprecedented accuracy and stability to determine the amount of solar irradiance reaching the top of the atmosphere and how solar irradiance varies on different time scales. These three independent measurements are analyzed using the EEMD (Ensemble Empirical Mode Decomposition) method to characterize the phase and amplitude of the 27-day solar rotational variation in TSI. The mode decomposition clearly identifies a 27-day solar rotational signature on TSI measurements. The rotational variations of TSI from the three independent observations are generally consistent with each other, despite different mean TSI values. During the declining phase of solar cycle 23, the amplitude of TSI 27-day variations is as high as 0.8 W/m 2 (~0.05%), while during the rising phase of solar cycle 24, the amplitude is up to 0.4 W/m 2 (~0.04%). During the minimum phase (2008–2009), the amplitude of the rotational mode is only ~0.1 W/m 2 . The correlation of this rotational mode between TIM and ACRIM III is ~0.92 and the slope of the local peak values is ~0.98. The correlation between TIM and VIRGO is ~0.96 and the slope of the local peak values is ~0.98, very similar to the slope with ACRIM III.
Science and Higher Education in Russia

The fall of the Soviet Union nearly a decade ago deeply affected Russia9s ability to maintain excellence in the natural sciences and engineering. The severe financial crisis and the brain drain have hit the scientific research community particularly hard. Scientific research is much less popular in today9s Russia than it was in the Soviet Union. The end of centralized planning necessitated fundamental changes in Russia9s higher education and research structure, and governmental and foreign initiatives directed toward supporting science and education are showing some success in creating a new healthier basis for Russian science. Science now has an opportunity to become an organic part of Russian society, instead of being imposed on it from above.
Hony, CIFA, and Zoomlion: Creating Value and Strategic Choices in a Dynamic Market

The private equity group Hony Capital considers what to do with their investment in Zoomlion, which has been successful to date. The question is whether to take their money off the table, or to invest in their acquisition of a large Italian competitor.Learning Objective:To illustrate private equity deal structuring in emerging markets.
Toxoplasma gondii prevents chromatin remodeling initiated by TLR-triggered macrophage activation.

Macrophages infected with the opportunistic protozoan Toxoplasma gondii are unable to up-regulate many proinflammatory cytokine genes, including TNF (TNF-α), upon stimulation with LPS and other TLR ligands. In this study, we examined the influence of T. gondii on transcription factors associated with TNF-α transcription, as well as phosphorylation and acetylation of histone H3 at distal and proximal regions of the TNF-α promoter. During LPS stimulation, we found that Toxoplasma blocks nuclear accumulation of transcription factor c-Jun, but not that of cAMP response element-binding protein or NF-κB. However, chromatin immunoprecipitation studies revealed that binding of all of these transcription factors to the TNF promoter was decreased by T. gondii infection. Furthermore, the parasite blocked LPS-induced Ser10 phosphorylation and Lys9/Lys14 acetylation of histone H3 molecules associated with distal and proximal regions of the TNF-α promoter. Our results show that Toxoplasma inhibits TNF-α transcription by interfering with chromatin remodeling events required for transcriptional activation at the TNF promoter, revealing a new mechanism by which a eukaryotic pathogen incapacitates proinflammatory cytokine production during infection.
A Method for Creating Near-Optimal Instances of a Certified Write-All Algorithm

This paper shows how to create near-optimal instances of the Certified Write-All algorithm called AWT that was introduced by Anderson and Woll [2]. This algorithm is the best known deterministic algorithm that can be used to simulate n synchronous parallel processors on n asynchronous processors. In this algorithm n processors update n memory cells and then signal the completion of the updates. The algorithm is instantiated with q permutations, where q can be chosen from a wide range of values. When implementing a simulation on a specific parallel system with n processors, one would like to use an instance of the algorithm with the best possible value of q, in order to maximize the efficiency of the simulation. This paper shows that the choice of q is critical for obtaining an instance of the AWT algorithm with near-optimal work.
A numerical study of surface‐subsurface exchange processes at a riffle‐pool pair in the Lahn River, Germany

[1] Hyporheic exchange is an ecologically important process, controlling the nutrient supply in the upper sediments and thus benthic habitat quality. Hydraulic exchange at a riffle-pool sequence in the Lahn River, Germany, was analyzed using HEC-RAS to simulate the surface water flow as a boundary for the subsurface flow and MODFLOW, MODPATH, and MT3DMS to reproduce the transport in the subsurface. Solute transport and residence times of surface water in the subsurface were simulated after calibrating sediment properties to fit simulated hydraulic head to measured subsurface head from the riffle-pool pair. Three surface water flow rates were considered. Results indicated that exchange increases with increasing surface water flow. However, the hydraulic conductivity of the riverbed sediments influences the mass transfer more than the surface water flow. The ratio of the infiltration rate to the surface water flow is of the same order of magnitude for all the considered flow conditions. Residence times of surface water in the subsurface varied inversely with the flow rates in the river.
Toward a model of emotions and mood in the online information search process

This article reports the results of a study that examined relationships between primary emotions, secondary emotions, and mood in the online information search context. During the experiment, participants were asked to search Google to obtain information on the two given search tasks. Participants' primary emotions were inferred from analysis of their facial expressions, data on secondary emotions were obtained through participant interviews, and mood was measured using the Positive Affect Negative Affect Scale (PANAS; Watson, Clark, & Tellegen, 1988) prior, during, and after the search. The search process was represented by the collection of search actions, search performance, and search outcome quality variables. The findings suggest existence of direct relationships between primary emotions and search actions, which in turn imply the possibility of inferring emotions from search actions and vice versa. The link between secondary emotions and searchers' evaluative judgments, and lack of evidence of any relationships between secondary emotions and other search process variables, point to the strengths and weaknesses of self-reported emotion measures in understanding searchers' affective experiences. Our study did not find strong relationships between mood and search process and outcomes, indicating that while mood can have a limited effect on search activities, it is a relatively stable and long-lasting state that cannot be easily altered by the search experience and, in turn, cannot significantly affect the search. The article proposes a model of relationships between emotions, mood, and several facets of the search process. Directions for future work are also discussed.
On electronic commerce, subatomic semantics and Caesar's stabbing

The paper claims that: (a) electronic commerce could make good use of messages that have semantic complexity considerably richer than that supported by existing EDI protocols; (b) understanding the logical structure of these semantically complex messages will be materially useful; and (c) the outline of that logical structure has begun to emerge with improved clarity. The focus of the paper is on point (c). The underlying event theory of the semantics of verb phrase modification, which theory has recently appeared in the literature, is especially promising as part of the basis for a formal language for electronic commerce. Not only does this theory supply new and useful representation techniques, but it fits well with prior work on the representation of speech acts.
An automated algorithm for river ice monitoring over the Susquehanna River using the MODIS data

Reliable and prompt information on river ice condition and extent is needed to make accurate hydrological forecasts to predict ice jams breakups and issue timely flood warnings. This study presents a technique to detect and monitor river ice using observations from the MODIS instrument onboard the Terra satellite. The technique incorporates a threshold-based decision tree image classification algorithm to process MODIS data and to determine the extent of ice. To differentiate between ice-covered and ice-free pixels within the riverbed, the algorithm combines observations in the visible and near-infrared spectral bands. The developed technique presents the core of the MODIS-based river ice mapping system, which has been developed to support National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration NWS's operations. The system has been tested over the Susquehanna River in northeastern USA, where ice jam events leading to spring floods are a frequent occurrence. The automated algorithm generates three products: daily ice maps, weekly composite ice maps and running cloud-free composite ice maps. The performance of the system was evaluated over nine winter seasons. The analysis of the derived products has revealed their good agreement with the aerial photography and with in situ observations-based ice charts. The probability of ice detection determined from the comparison of the product with the high-resolution Landsat imagery was equal to 91%. A consistent inverse relationship was found between the river discharge and the ice extent. The correlation between the discharge and the ice extent as determined from the weekly composite product reached 0.75. The developed CREST River Ice Observation System has been implemented at National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration–Cooperative Remote Sensing Science and Technology Center as an operational Web tool allowing end users and forecasters to assess ice conditions on the river. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Civil society and Marxist politics: What's left?

(1996). Civil society and Marxist politics: What's left? The European Legacy: Vol. 1, Fourth International Conference of the International Society for the study of European Ideas, pp. 311-316.
The chemistry behind the sol–gel synthesis of complex oxide nanoparticles for bio-imaging applications

The formation of nanoparticles in hydrolytic and non-hydrolytic reactions in organic media is treated as a borderline case of coordination chemistry equilibria. Metal cation complexes with O-donor ligands, such as metal alkoxides or β-diketonates and carboxylates, experience normally no kinetic hinders in re-structuring and aggregation. The steps of hydrolysis and condensation constitute in this case parts of one and the same kinetic phenomenon. Introduction of oxo-ligands during the first steps of hydrolytic or thermal decomposition leads thus in homogeneous processes to well-defined oligonuclear oxo-species. The structure of the latter is originating from the densest possible packing of cations and ligands and is not in any mean related to the structure of the original precursor molecules. The oxo-alkoxide molecules serve apparently as nuclei for the formation of larger aggregates that become phase separated and can be referred to as Micelles Templated by Self-Assembly of Ligands. The core of the latter is practically always crystalline or at least short-order organized, while the shell is, in the hydrolytic approach, constructed of hydrated amorphous oxide and ligands that stabilize the colloid via interaction with the solvent. The thermal treatment either in solution or for a dry xerogel is thus indispensable for preparation of fully crystalline particles and offers also an opportunity to control the final size of the particles via further aggregation. To guarantee the formation of complex oxide nanoparticles, the conditions insuring phase separation for each component have to be achieved. This means that the use of stoichiometric or super-stoichiometric quantities of water is required together with a solvent guaranteeing minimal solubility of hydrolyzed species. The approaches to complex oxide phases and oxides doped with lanthanide cations are discussed.
Theory versus Data: How to Calculate R0?

To predict the potential severity of outbreaks of infectious diseases such as SARS, HIV, TB and smallpox, a summary parameter, the basic reproduction number R0, is generally calculated from a population-level model. R0 specifies the average number of secondary infections caused by one infected individual during his/her entire infectious period at the start of an outbreak. R0 is used to assess the severity of the outbreak, as well as the strength of the medical and/or behavioral interventions necessary for control. Conventionally, it is assumed that if R0>1 the outbreak generates an epidemic, and if R0<1 the outbreak becomes extinct. Here, we use computational and analytical methods to calculate the average number of secondary infections and to show that it does not necessarily represent an epidemic threshold parameter (as it has been generally assumed). Previously we have constructed a new type of individual-level model (ILM) and linked it with a population-level model. Our ILM generates the same temporal incidence and prevalence patterns as the population-level model; we use our ILM to directly calculate the average number of secondary infections (i.e., R0). Surprisingly, we find that this value of R0 calculated from the ILM is very different from the epidemic threshold calculated from the population-level model. This occurs because many different individual-level processes can generate the same incidence and prevalence patterns. We show that obtaining R0 from empirical contact tracing data collected by epidemiologists and using this R0 as a threshold parameter for a population-level model could produce extremely misleading estimates of the infectiousness of the pathogen, the severity of an outbreak, and the strength of the medical and/or behavioral interventions necessary for control.
Solubilities of carbon dioxide in methanol and methanol-water at high pressures: experimental data and modeling

Abstract The solubilities of carbon dioxide in methanol and in methanol-water mixtures have been measured at 243, 258, 273, and 298 K, and at pressures up to 54 atm. An extended Soave-Redlich-Kwong equation of state with Mathias' polar correction factor has been used to described the equilibrium behavior of these mixtures. Binary interaction parameters were evaluated using data from these experiments, as well as those found in the literature. Correlations of the binary data using this equation of state were excellent. Use of the parameters from the binary correlations to predict solubilities of carbon dioxide in mixtures of methanol and water resulted in favorable agreement with the experimental data over most of the system conditions. However, at high concentrations of carbon dioxide, the equation tended to predict the formation of two liquid phases. This tendency is thought to be related to the mixing rules used in formulating the equation of state.
Academic and Intellectual Foundations of Teacher Education in Global Perspectives.

M ANY educators present global education as an exciting new field with a world-view radically different from that held in established social education circles. However, this "new" field has grown out of a long tradition of American education and shares many assumptions with earlier reform writings. If global education is to be truly global rather than simply a repackaging of old ideologies in a new symbol system, programs in global education must honestly examine the intellectual and ideological traditions out of which American education has grown and expand this academic framework to include other scholarly models that see the world from a variety of perspectives. Graduate programs should not claim to be presenting new ways of analyzing the world while actually proposing an "emerging global culture" that is very close to the normative values of the modem West, particularly the United States. Historic liberalism, which has characterized past images of the world in American education, is only one among several legitimate systems of analysis of the world. Students enrolled in global education programs must be taught that the American cultural tradition and the dominant
The effect of perceptual similarity and linguistic input on children's acquisition of object labels

This study investigated whether and when children establish various semantic relations between old and new words. Fifty two-year-olds were taught labels for objects previously referred to by an overextended term. We found that children were more likely to learn a new label when (a) it referred to a new object that was perceptually dissimilar, rather than similar, to a known one, and (b) when linguistic information indicated it had an inclusion, rather than a mutually exclusive, relation to a known label. Children were more likely to interpret a new label as mutually exclusive to a known one when their referents were perceptually dissimilar. These findings are discussed in light of theories of lexical development, particularly with regard to conceptualizations of constraints on the acquisition of word meaning.
Application of the linear-quadratic model to myelotoxicity associated with radioimmunotherapy

The purposes of this study were: (1) to use the linear-quadratic model to determine time-dependent biologically effective doses (BEDS) that were delivered to the bone marrow by multiple infusions of radiolabeled antibodies, and (2) to determine whether granulocyte and platelet counts correlate better with BED than administered radioactivity, which does not take stem cell repopulation, i.e., time, into consideration. Twenty patients with B-cell malignancies that had progressed despite intensive chemotherapy and who had a significant number of malignant cells in their bone marrow were treated with multiple 0.7–3.7 GBq/m2 (18–100 mCi/m2) intravenous infusions of Lym-1, a murine monoclonal antibody that binds to a tumour-associated antigen, labeled with iodine-131. Granulocyte and platelet counts were measured in order to assess bone marrow toxicity. BEDs were calculated according to the formula: BED=D(1+gD/(α,/β))−0.693(T n−T k/αT p, whereD represents the absorbed dose of radiation delivered to the red marrow by penetrating emissions of131I throughout the whole body and nonpenetrating emissions of131I in the blood and bone marrow,g is a factor that depends on the duration of irradiation relative to the repair half-life of human bone marrow, α is the coefficient of nonrepairable damage per Gy, β is the coefficient of repairable damage per Gy2,T n is the time required to reach the granulocyte or platelet count nadir after an131I-Lym-1 infusion,T k is the time at which bone marrow proliferation begins after the start of treatment andT p is the doubling time of the bone marrow after the granulocyte or platelet count nadir has been reached. The cumulative131I-Lym-1 radioactivity administered to each patient was calculated. Biologically effective doses from multiple131I-Lym-1 infusions were summated in order to arrive at a total BED for each patient. There was a weak association between granulocyte and platelet counts and radioactivity (the correlation coefficients were −0.23 and −0.60, respectively). Likewise, there was a weak association between granulocyte and platelet counts and BED (the correlation coefficients were −0.27 and −0.40, respectively). The attempt to take bone marrow absorbed doses and overall treatment time into consideration with the linear-quadratic model did not produce a stronger association than was observed between peripheral blood counts and administered radioactivity. The association between granulocyte and platelet counts and BED may have been weakened by several factors, including variable bone marrow reserve at the start of131I-Lym-1 therapy and the delivery of heterogeneous absorbed doses of radiation to the bone marrow.
Ontogeny of structural components at the dermal-epidermal junction in human embryonic and fetal skin: The appearance of anchoring fibrils and type VII collagen

The ontogeny and composition of the dermal-epidermal junction (DEJ) in developing human embryonic and fetal skin was studied at progressive stages of gestation by immunofluorescence microscopy and immunocytochemistry using transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The DEJ of embryonic skin at 5 weeks estimated gestational age (EGA) was a simple basement membrane zone limited to the basal cell plasma membrane, lamina lucida, and lamina densa. A network of reticular collagen fibrils (reticular lamina) was deposited beneath the lamina densa by 6 weeks. Coincident with the onset of increased complexity in epidermal and dermal structure, at the time of the embryonic to fetal transition, the DEJ displayed additional components that were markers of maturation. At 7–8 weeks EGA, fine filamentous structures extended from the DEJ into the reticular lamina. By 9 weeks EGA hemidesmosomes and banded anchoring fibrils were recognizable, although distributed sparsely at the DEJ. With increasing gestational age, these structures displayed greater electron density and structural completeness. By the end of the first trimester, the DEJ appeared ultrastructurally similar to that of mature skin. Weak immunofluorescent labeling demonstrated the presence of type VII collagen at the DEJ by 8 weeks EGA. From 10–12 weeks EGA immunofluorescent labeling of the DEJ for type VII collagen was distinctly punctate, while immunoperoxidase labeling observed by TEM was linear, continuous, and sublamina densa in position. With ongoing gestation the immunofhiorescent labeling became increasingly stronger at the DEJ. Thus, type VII collagen was present at the DEJ in the zone immediately beneath the lamina densa, before the appearance of mature anchoring fibrils but coordinate with the appearance of fine filamentous, unbanded structures, and appeared to increase with the development and accumulation of anchoring fibrils.
Tubular Sodium Reabsorption and the Regulation of Renal Hemodynamics. The Effect of Hypertonic Saline Infusion on Renal Vascular Resistance

The hemodynamic response following saline loading was found to differ from that induced by the saluretic agent, chlorothiazide, which causes vasoconstriction. When hypertonic NaCl was infused into the renal artery until a profuse sodium diuresis was obtained, and the infusion then interrupted, CNa/CIn remained elevated for 60–80 min. During this period the renal vascular resistance did not change significantly and the glomerular filtration rate tended to rise as compared with the control periods. This is contrary to what has previouly been found during chlorothiazide administration, where renal vascular resistance was significantly correlated with CNa/CIn. A hypertonic saline load blocks Na reabsorption in the proximal tubules, chlorothiazide mainly in the distal tubules. It was therefore concluded that it is a reduction of movement of Na into the distal tubule cells, specifically the macula densa, rather than the increased Na concentration of the distal tubular fluid that is responsible for the vasoconstrictive effect of chlorothiazide.
Free Amino Acids in Bovine Muscles and Their Relationship to Tenderness

SUMMARY —Free amino acid (FAA) analyses were conducted on 87 I. dorsi and 58 b. femoris samples from cattle varying in sex, breeding and age to study the relationships between these muscle constituents and Warner-Bratzler Shear values. The b. femoris contained greater amounts of FAA than the I. dorsi and was significantly tougher. Muscles from a line of cattle that tended to be more tender possessed greater amounts of FAA. With few exceptions the I. dorsi of steers contained greater amounts of FAA than the same muscle from bulls. Differences in bull muscles due to age were not significant for any FAA. Steer muscle with low shear values tended to possess greater amounts of FAA than steers with high shear values. Although not significantly correlated individual and total FAA increased slightly with increasing tenderness within beef muscles.
Effects of recombinant activated factor VII in traumatic nonsurgical intracranial hemorrhage.

Objective To determine whether treatment with recombinant activated factor VII (rFVIIa) will prevent progression of bleeding in nonsurgical hemorrhagic traumatic brain injury (TBI). Methods Chart review from the trauma registry of a level 1 trauma center between January 1, 2002 and December 31, 2004 identified 2 patients who received rFVIIa for progressive hemorrhagic TBI. These patients were given a single dose of rFVIIa (120 mcg/kg) after a repeat head computed tomography (CT) scan showed worsening of intracranial bleeding. Pre-rFVIIa and post-rFVIIa coagulation parameters and postintervention CT scans were performed. A matched convenience sample was drawn from the institution’s trauma registry reflecting similar injury patterns. Results The 2 patients who received rFVIIa were ages 61 and 79 years; the patients in the matched convenience sample were 57 and 63 years. Both sets of patients comprised 1 man and 1 woman who had suffered blunt trauma, including hemorrhagic TBI, and were matched according to age, gender, and injury severity score (ISS). During their hospital course, repeat CT scans documented worsening of intracranial hemorrhage in both cohorts. In the rFVIIa patients, follow-up CT showed overall improvement of head injury compared with the convenience sample. The rFVIIa patients also saw an appreciable decrease in both prothrombin time (PT) and international normalized ratio (INR). Conclusions In hemorrhagic TBI, rFVIIa has the potential to limit or even halt the progression of bleeding that would otherwise place growing pressure on the brain. A prospective, randomized multicenter trial is planned to elucidate this hypothesis.
Comparative study of x-ray lithography process optimization using theoretical and empirical tools

This paper presents the results of a simple orthogonal matrix experiment testing photoresist performance as a function of post exposure bake temperature and time. The dose latitude of quarter micron line/space pairs is found under these conditions. These empirical results are compared against those produced under identical process conditions but utilizing simulated images based on resist dissolution rate data. The matrix responses of the empirical and simulated data sets are compared. Also, these linewidth results are compared against resist characteristic data produced under identical process conditions. The matrix responses of the three data sets are compared.
The auroral plasma cavity

A region of diminished plasma density has been found to occur at the source of auroral kilometric radiation (AKR). The density within this auroral plasma cavity, determined from limited Hawkeye wave data, was less than 1/cu cm from 1.8 to 3 earth radii geocentric, at 70 deg + or - 3 deg invariant magnetic latitude. The altitude variation of the magnetic field produces a minimum in the ratio of plasma frequency to cyclotron frequency within the cavity which accounts for the observed spectrum of AKR.
Facilitating Early Language Development with Milieu Intervention Procedures

The lexical, semantic, and pragmatic effects of milieu language intervention procedures implemented to teach basic lexicon and early relational semantic forms was investigated. The subjects were tw...
Gut-directed hypnotherapy significantly augments clinical remission in quiescent ulcerative colitis

Summary Background Psychotherapy is not routinely recommended for in ulcerative colitis (UC). Gut-directed hypnotherapy (HYP) has been linked to improved function in the gastrointestinal tract and may operate through immune-mediated pathways in chronic diseases. Aims To determine the feasibility and acceptability of HYP and estimate the impact of HYP on clinical remission status over a 1-year period in patients with an historical flare rate of 1.3 times per year. Methods A total of 54 patients were randomised at a single site to seven sessions of gut-directed HYP (n = 26) or attention control (CON; n = 29) and followed for 1 year. The primary outcome was the proportion of participants in each condition that had remained clinically asymptomatic (clinical remission) through 52 weeks post treatment. Results One-way analysis of variance comparing HYP and CON subjects on number of days to clinical relapse favoured the HYP condition [F = 4.8 (1, 48), P = 0.03] by 78 days. Chi-squared analysis comparing the groups on proportion maintaining remission at 1 year was also significant [χ2(1) = 3.9, P = 0.04], with 68% of HYP and 40% of CON patients maintaining remission for 1 year. There were no significant differences between groups over time in quality of life, medication adherence, perceived stress or psychological factors. Conclusion This is the first prospective study that has demonstrated a significant effect of a psychological intervention on prolonging clinical remission in patients with quiescent ulcerative colitis (Clinical Trial # NCT00798642).
Site-specific protein immobilization by Staudinger ligation.

The Staudinger ligation between an azido-protein and a phosphinothioester-derivatized surface is demonstrated to be an effective means for the site-specific, covalent immobilization of a protein. Immobilization yields of >50% are obtained in 80% of their expected activity. No other method enables more rapid immobilization or a higher yield of active protein. Because azido-peptides and azido-proteins are readily attainable by synthesis, biosynthesis, or semisynthesis, the Staudinger ligation could be of unsurpassed utility in creating microarrays of functional peptides and proteins.
Prediction of properties of intermetallics using a chemical bonding model

Materials with novel properties are needed for new technology developments. It is important to be able to predict which of the millions of multicomponent intermetallics might provide the desired properties. A single chemical bonding model, the Brewer-Engel, has provided reliable thermodynamic data for the metallic elements in a variety of crystal structures. The model can be extended to intermetallics. An illustration of the calculations is available for Al or Mg with transition metals forming intermetallics with binary CsCl structures. A number of publications will be available for similar calculations for a variety of crystal structures. The calculations will be extended to a variety of compositions and multicomponent systems. The present article will discuss the procedures that can be used to simplify the calculations, yet maintain reliable accuracy.
Public Administration and the Constitution: A Conflict in World-Views

This paper examines the world views underlying public administration and the Constitution. The article presents two rather different ways of looking at the world, which are used as a framework to c...
Sidewall ripouts in strike-slip faults

Abstract Distinctive splay fault configurations in wallrocks associated with pseudotachylyte-bearing strike-slip fault structures at three different localities are recognized as ‘sidewall ripouts’. Sidewall ripout structures occur as asymmetric, doubly-tapered, fault-bounded lenses or slabs adjacent to a dominant planar fault surface. Scallop-shaped lens ripouts develop in isotropic or weakly anisotropic host rocks and elongate slab ripouts develop in strongly anisotropic host rocks. The tapered ends of these structures consist of leading contractional P-type ramp structures at a low-angle to the dominant planar fault surface and trailing extensional R- or X′-type ramp structures at higher angles to the dominant fault surface. The formation of ripout structures is attributed to transient variations in the coefficient of friction that cause adhesion between fault surfaces leading to rupture of the sidewalls. Ripouts are interpreted as large outcrop-scale examples of adhesive wear during rupture of the sidewalls developed along planar fault surfaces during slip. The asymmetry of the ripout structures in these exposures allows their use as a kinematic indicator where the narrow-tapered leading end points in the direction of movement of the ripout lens or slab during adhesion to the opposing fault block wall.
A note on a sufficiency condition for uniqueness of a restricted factor matrix

A counterexample is produced to a conjecture by K. G. Joreskog concerning sufficiency conditions for uniqueness of a restricted factor matrix. A substitute condition is stated and proved for the most common situation where the restricted elements are specified to be zero.
Stereochemical Outcome and Kinetic Effects of Rp- and Sp-Phosphorothioate Substitutions at the Cleavage Site of Vaccinia Type I DNA Topoisomerase†

To probe the mechanism of the reversible DNA phosphodiester bond cleavage and religation mechanism of the type I topoisomerase from vaccinia virus, we have synthesized DNA substrates carrying a sin...
The Early Identification of Language-Based Reading Disabilities

Research and clinical practice clearly demonstrate that many reading disabilities are language-based. Because the language deficits associated with reading disabilities are often present during the...
The nonlinear steepest descent approach to the singular asymptotics of the second Painlevé transcendent

Abstract We consider the real-valued solutions of the second Painleve equation on the real line. The two-parameter family of the solutions having singular asymptotics as x → + ∞ or/and x → − ∞ is studied with the help of the Deift–Zhou nonlinear steepest descent method. Explicit evaluation in terms of trigonometric functions of the (singular) leading orders of the asymptotics is carried out and the corresponding connection formulae obtained. A novel methodological feature is the appearance of the “soliton” type Riemann–Hilbert problem in the course of the implementation of the Deift–Zhou scheme for the Riemann–Hilbert problem corresponding to the second Painleve equation within the Riemann–Hilbert isomonodromy approach. The result of the paper reproduces previously known formulae derived by Kapaev via the original isomonodromy technique.
PLASMA MEMBRANES OF THE RAT LIVER: Isolation and Enzymatic Characterization of a Fraction Rich in Bile Canaliculi

A method is described for the rapid isolation of a plasma membrane fraction containing a high concentration of intact bile canaliculi from the rat liver. Isolated bile canaliculi retain most of the ultrastructural features exhibited in the intact liver cell. The final fraction contains 5'-nucleotidase activity at approximately the same concentration as that in previous preparations of plasma membranes. In the presence of 0.01 M Mg++, 5'-nucleotidase exhibits a double pH optimum at pH values of 7.5 and 9.5. The activities of glucose-6-phosphatase and alkaline phosphatase are present in low amounts. Cytochrome P-450 is not detectable. Na+-K+-activation of ATPase is observed to the extent of 20–36% in about half of the assays. The availability of a method for preparation of intact bile canaliculi should prove useful for studying the biochemical events associated with the transport of bile constituents into canaliculi.
Ethylidyne on Pt(111): determination of adsorption site, substrate relaxation and coverage by automated tensor LEED

Abstract The adsorption of ethylidyne on Pt(111) is investigated by low-energy electron diffraction (LEED). An automated search program for LEED structure analysis is used to determine the adsorption geometry from comparison of experiment and theory. The fcc threefold hollow site is preferred by the fit. The carbon-carbon bond distance is 1.49 A and the carbon-platinum bond length 1.91 A. A buckling within the top two substrate layers is detected which corresponds to a local expansion of the first-to-second layer distance underneath the adsorbate by 0.08 A as compared to the bulk value. The three substrate atoms forming the hollow site are closer to one another than in the bulk structure by 0.11 A. A tilt of the carbon-carbon bond by 6° seems to occur and could be indicative of a wagging vibration of this bond. The hydrogen atoms do not contribute to the diffraction that yields the ordered pattern as indicated by the absence of hydrogen related features in the experimental I–V curves, suggesting relatively free rotation of the methyl group about the carbon-carbon axis. Additionally, a distinction between a p(2 × 2) and an average of three domains of a p(2 × 1) structure, which both give rise to the same (2 × 2) LEED pattern, is possible. The p(2 × 2) is favored in the structural analysis, giving an ethylidyne coverage of 0.25 monolayers.
The dependence of Mössbauer parameters on magnetic moments in iron(III) dithiocarbamates

Abstract We have found a linear relationship between the isomer shift and magnetic moment (μeff) (literature values) for a series of iron(III)-dithiocarbamates, Fe (S2CNR2)3. This is the first observation of a regular dependence of the Mossbauer isomer shift on the spin state of iron in a spin-crossover situation. The solid state isomer shift was found to decrease with decreasing solid μeff. This is interpreted as evidence that the back-donation of iron 3d-electrons into empty ligand π-orbitals is more important as the low-spin state is approached. Due to complicating factors, the quadrupole splitting does not show as clear a correlation, but there is a general trend toward greater splitting as the magnetic moment decreases.
Synthesis of an azide-bearing N-mustard analogue of S-adenosyl-L-methionine.

The synthesis of an azide-bearing N-mustard S-adenosyl-l-methionine (SAM) analogue, 8-azido-5′-(diaminobutyric acid)-N-iodoethyl-5′-deoxyadenosine, has been accomplished in 10 steps from commercially available 2′,3′-isopropylidene adenosine. Critical to this success was executing C8 azidation prior to derivatizing the 5′-position of the ribose sugar and the late stage alkylation of the 5′ amino group with bromoethanol, which was necessitated by the reactivity of the aryl azide moiety. The azide-bearing N-mustard is envisioned as a useful biochemical tool by which to probe DNA and protein methylation patterns.
Personality factors predicting failure to practice safer sex by HIV positive males

Abstract This study examines the restrospective relationship between neuroticism, psychoticism, extraversion, immune system functioning and HIV knowledge on the failure to practice safer sex by persons with HIV disease. As predicted, psychoticism and lack of HIV knowledge correlated positively with failure to practice safer sex. Contrary to prediction, the correlation between neuroticism and unsafe sexual behavior was not significant. The possible implications of these findings are discussed.