cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Translating a Greek Myth: Christa Wolof's Medea in a Contemporary Context

After elaborating on the theory on revisionary mythmaking the essay tries to relate this theory to Christa Wolf's re-vision of the Medea myth. How does Wolf delegitimize Medea's traditional roles as developed by Euripides, what does she displace through her version, and to what extent does she emphasize what Euripides and many after him merely hint at? Wolf displaces Euripides's view of Medea as a monster and shifts the recipient's attention from her individual conflict with Jason to two wider conflicts: the irreconcilability of the two cultures Colchis and Corinth, and, in connection with this, the conflict between the sexes, a central theme already in Kassandra. This essay shows further how the clash between Colchis and Corinth can be related to East and West Germany and to what extent Wolf translates the patriarchal myth into a matriarchal one. Euripides's version of Medea already contains some moments in which the traditional patriarchal gender concept is challenged and questioned. Christa Wolf builds on these early adumbrations of feminist thought, enlarges them substantially and works them into a contemporary context. Once again, after Die Gunderode and Kassandra, her Medea is an alternative albeit doomed projection to the enlightened and – according to Horckheimer/Adorno – therefore destructive patriarchal hero.
Calcium and Guanylate Cyclase in Lymphocyte Activation

ABSTRACT Several mitogens have been shown to stimulate increases in cyclic GMP in a calcium-dependent manner in a variety of lymphocytes. Guanylate cyclase activation by an indirect mechanism involving lipid metabolism appears to account for the cyclic GMP increases. The plant lectin mitogens PHA and Con A stimulate a sequence of reactions in human PBL including phospholipid methyltransferases, phospholipase, and lipoxygenase, producing HPETEs and other products which may be the proximal stimulants of guanylate cyclase. The enhancement by calcium of the latter 2 activities may explain the link between calcium and activation of guanylate cyclase by mitogens. The tumor promoter and human T lymphocyte mitogen PMA may act in a similar manner, by-passing the phospholipid methylation step. PHA activates primarily the membrane bound guanylate cyclase, while PMA and Con A stimulate the soluble form to a greater extent.
Religion Inscribed in the Landscape: Sacred Sites, Local Deities and Natural Resource Use in the Himalayas

Numerous indigenous religious traditions express connection between people and the spirit world. Such spiritual perspectives locate humans within networks of reciprocal relations with other living and non-living beings. A place-based view shifts the understanding of nonhuman nature away from a utilitarian perspective that sees forests, rivers, and soils as natural resources to be used with maximal efficiency and toward a more inclusive perspective that values landscape as beings, or homes of beings, with their own inherent values, purposes, meanings, and destinies. In the eastern Himalaya, autochthonous deities, believed to be the original owners of the land, were not eradicated by Tibetan Buddhism, but incorporated into its pantheons and practices, creating a mechanism that mediates the connections between people to their landscapes. Tibetan Buddhists of Bhutan engage with specific places on the landscape to create and nurture the habits of mind that recognize forests, soil, rivers, mountains, and wildlife as beings worthy of respect. The prohibitions of autochthonous deities have shaped human settlement, land use patterns, local custom, and placement of religious structures. Drawing on ethnographic fieldwork, I show how religion shapes the landscapes in Tibetan Buddhist parts of Bhutan by dictating land uses and proscriptions in certain sites. Spiritual and religious perceptions shape the landscape through land use restrictions, the siting of religious monuments, and prohibitions against construction. Globalization is subtly shifting deity beliefs and associated landscape practices. It is having the paradoxical consequence of increasing interest in sacred natural sites and spiritual landscapes, while also intensifying forces that jeopardize their cultural and ecological survival. Greater understanding of sacred natural sites could contribute to greater appreciation and protection of their cultural and ecological aspects, and could shift ecological and geographical thinking towards a view that values the agency of non-human nature and the natural landscape.
Magnetohydrodynamic Effects in High Gravity Convection During Alloy Solidification

Nonlinear compositional convection in the melt and in cylindrical chimneys within a mushy layer during solidification of a binary alloy is investigated subjected to a strong magnetic field and under high gravity environment. Asymptotic and scaling analyses are applied to axisymmetric convection in the melt and in the chimneys. Three important nondimensional parameters are the solutal Rayleigh number R, the centrifugal acceleration parameter A, and the Chandrasekhar number (magnetic parameter) Q. Magnetohydrody-namic effects, due to the presence of a strong magnetic field, are stabilizing in the sense that convection and freckle formation can be reduced significantly. Such stabilizing effects can be enhanced by the presence of a moderate rate of rotation due to centrifugal force effects. In this stabilizing regime, chimney convection decreases with increasing either A or Q, even though it still increases with R.
Ignorance of Law Is an Excuse - but Only for the Virtuous

If you want to know the law and nothing else, you must look at it as a bad man, who cares only for the material consequences which such knowledge enables him to predict, not as a good one, who finds his reasons for conduct, whether inside the law or outside of it, in the vaguer sanctions of conscience.
Evolutionary Music Education: Robert W. Claiborne and The Way Man Learned Music (1927):

The purpose of this study was to explore and document The Way Man Learned Music (1927), a method written by lawyer, Marine captain, educator, and political leader Robert Watson Claiborne (1888–1966...
An empirical investigation of factors that influence commitment and active participation in in-house affiliate marketing network

At present, affiliate marketing has become a standard tool for organisations and companies that have business activities on the internet. It can take the form of a third-party service or can be directly managed by a merchant (in-house). In this study, we deal with in-house affiliate marketing. It is taken as a fact that affiliates are driven by economic bonuses. Our study confirms that a long-term relationship with affiliates is advantageous for the merchant, especially with those affiliates who are active and lead more customers to the merchant. In these relationships, economic bonuses are the primary motivation, but as our study shows, there are other factors that affect affiliates' commitment and their active participation within affiliate marketing. We explain how economic benefits, communication and its quality, merchant's brands and reputation, interdependence and quality of services impact affiliates' commitment and active participation. Results of this study support hypotheses that economic benefits and communication (including its quality) critically impact affiliate marketing performance. The interpretations and implications of the findings as well as future research directions are discussed.
Inventing the Future: Postcapitalism and a World Without Work

For Nick Srnicek and Alex Williams, “The question that any analysis of the left today must grapple with is simply: What has gone wrong” (p. 9)? In Inventing the Future: Postcapitalism and a World W...
Management of Pain in the United States-A Brief History and Implications for the Opioid Epidemic

Pain management in the United States reflects attitudes to those in pain. Increased numbers of disabled veterans in the 1940s to 1960s led to an increased focus on pain and its treatment. The view of the person in pain has moved back and forth between a physiological construct to an individual with pain where perception may be related to social, emotional, and cultural factors. Conceptually, pain has both a medical basis and a political context, moving between, for example, objective evidence of disability due to pain and subjective concerns of malingering. In the 20th century, pain management became predominately pharmacologic. Perceptions of undertreatment led to increased use of opioids, at first for those with cancer-related pain and then later for noncancer pain without the multidimensional care that was intended. The increased use was related to exaggerated claims in the medical literature and by the pharmaceutical industry, of a lack of addiction in the setting of noncancer pain for these medications-a claim that was subsequently found to be false and deliberatively deceptive; an epidemic of opioid prescribing began in the 1990s. An alarming rise in deaths due to opioids has led to several efforts to decrease use, both in patients with noncancer conditions and in those with cancer and survivors of cancer.
Adamantinoma-Like Ewing Sarcoma of the Thyroid: A Case Report and Review of the Literature

Currently considered a variant of Ewing sarcoma, adamantinoma-like Ewing sarcoma is a rare malignancy that shows classic Ewing sarcoma-associated gene fusions but also epithelial differentiation. Here we present the 6th reported case of adamantinoma-like Ewing sarcoma involving the thyroid gland. Sections of the thyroid tumor from a 20-year old woman showed sheets, lobules and trabeculae of primitive, uniform, small round blue cells that diffusely expressed pankeratin, p40 and CD99. Fluorescent in situ hybridization revealed an EWSR1 gene rearrangement and an EWSR1-FLI1 fusion was detected by RT-PCR. Neck lymph nodes were not involved, and the patient was treated with a Ewing sarcoma chemotherapy protocol and radiation and is disease free 7 months after surgery. The unusual histology and immunohistochemical profile of adamantinoma-like Ewing sarcoma makes diagnosis and classification very challenging. We also present a literature review of adamantinoma-like Ewing sarcoma involving the thyroid.
Determinants and Consequences of Quantitative Critical Accounting Estimate Disclosures

ABSTRACT The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) recommends that firms provide MD&A disclosures quantifying the earnings effect of reasonably likely changes in critical accounting estimates (q...
Patient Characteristics Associated with Receipt of Prescription Weight‐Management Medications Among Veterans Participating in MOVE!

Objective Weight-management medications (WMM) are recommended for the treatment of obesity. This study examined characteristics associated with initial receipt of WMM among eligible veterans in the first year following enrollment in the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) MOVE! behavioral weight-management program. Methods We conducted a retrospective cohort study of VHA patients with obesity or overweight and obesity-related comorbidities who enrolled in MOVE! from October 2013 to September 2016 (N = 153,939). Multivariable logistic regression models estimated predictors of having a filled prescription for WMM and for orlistat. Results A total of 1.1% of these veterans received WMM. The most common WMM included orlistat (70.4%), phentermine/topiramate (11.2%), and bupropion/naltrexone (9.7%). Female sex, higher BMI, obstructive sleep apnea, osteoarthritis, depression, lower back pain, and alcohol abuse were associated with greater odds of use of WMM, whereas age over 65 years, Hispanic ethnicity, and required co-payments were associated with lower odds. Among patients receiving WMM, older age, black race, female sex, higher BMI, cardiovascular disease, lower back pain, and congestive heart failure were associated with use of orlistat versus any other WMM. Conclusions Of patients engaged in MOVE! in the VHA, 1.1% received WMM. WMM are underutilized among veterans. Additional research is needed to understand barriers to incorporating WMM into comprehensive obesity treatment plans.
Instrumented Pyramid Adapter for Amputee Gait Analysis and Powered Prosthesis Control

Novel advanced prostheses aim to improve the ambulation ability of lower-limb amputees by adapting the prosthesis mechanical behavior online during ambulation. Accurate force/torque sensing is necessary to measure the physical interaction between the user, the prosthesis, and the environment. Most available solutions consist of retrofitting an off-the-shelf load cell, which leads to suboptimal designs regarding weight and size, ultimately reducing the prosthesis usability. To address this limitation, we propose to instrument an existing prosthesis component, namely, a pyramid adapter, with force/torque sensing and an inertial measurement unit. Magnetic sensing of large structural deformations is used to improve system reliability and reduce costs. Testing shows that the proposed sensor prototype can sense up to 120 Nm and 2500 N of torque and force and has 2.1% and 8.3% nonlinearity, respectively, during walking. The total weight is 150 g—only 66 g more than a standard pyramid adapter without force/torque instrumentation. Amputee testing with robotic leg prosthesis is conducted to validate the instrumented pyramid in a case scenario.
Ly-1 b cells and disease activity in (new zealand black × new zealand white)f1 mice

The treatment of female (New Zealand black x New Zealand white)F1 mice with total lymphoid irradiation resulted in a prolonged remission of autoimmune disease activity. Total lymphoid irradiation-treated mice also showed a marked reduction of Ly-1 B cells, which lasted up to 3 months. The subsequent return of Ly-1 B cells to preirradiation levels was not associated with a simultaneous return of disease when measured by parameters such as IgG anti-DNA antibodies and spontaneous secretion of IgG by splenic cells. In cell sorting experiments, most of the cells spontaneously secreting IgG were found within the Ly-1- (CD5-) splenic B cell population.
Risk Management and Quality Improvement

Given the increasing volume of cases being performed in ambulatory surgery centers (ASCs), practitioners are being asked to provide a wide array of services while simultaneously expected to maintain exceptional quality. The additional administrative burden this places on a facility requires continuous attention since the practice of healthcare includes multiple changing facets. ASCs need to understand the variety of risks that may threaten their viability and develop a practical approach in handling them. Furthermore, with the increasing emphasis being placed on patient safety and quality of care delivered by providers, anesthesiologists are expected to refine their practice through new quality improvement (QI) measures. Undertaking QI projects may be a daunting task for providers, but by identifying areas for improvement and developing systematic methods of achieving these goals, ASCs can optimize patient care and work efficiency. In this chapter, we address essential components of risk management and quality improvement that ASCs should consider when attempting to provide safe and effective patient care.
Child Neurology: Spastic paraparesis and dystonia with a novel ADCY5 mutation.

We describe a 21-year-old woman with lower extremity spasticity, dystonia, and weakness. She was born full term without complications. At 5 years of age, she began dragging her right foot, which slowly progressed to bilateral toe walking and a wide-based stance. By 14 years of age, she walked with her legs in a fixed posture with knees extended, and by 21 years of age, she was unable to stand unassisted. Family reported an intermittent hand action tremor and large “jerks” of her legs in the evening. They also noticed intermittent slurred speech that was difficult to understand. She reported occasional tingling in her fingers and toes. She completed the 5th grade, but schooling was eventually stopped because of learning difficulties. There is no family history of similar problems or consanguinity. Neurologic examination showed scanning and slurred speech, decreased strength and spasticity in the lower extremities, and a mild, low-amplitude, high-frequency terminal action tremor of both hands. Reflexes were increased at the knees (grade 3) with upgoing plantar responses, and there was decreased vibration and proprioception sensation at the toes. Upon standing, she had dystonic posturing of bilateral lower extremities.
Computationally Efficient Spatio-Temporal Dynamic Texture Recognition for Volatile Organic Compound (VOC) Leakage Detection in Industrial Plants

In this article, we present a computationally efficient algorithm to detect Volatile Organic Compounds (VOC) leaking out of components used in chemical processes in petrochemical refineries and chemical plants. A leaking VOC plume from a damaged component appears as a dynamic dark cloud in infrared videos. We describe a two-stage deep neural network structure, taking advantage of both spatial and temporal structure of the dynamic texture regions created by the leaking VOC plume. We first detect moving pixels which are darker then their neighboring pixels. We extract one-dimensional (1-D) signals representing the temporal history of such pixels from video and feed the 1-D signals to a 1-D convolutional neural network. If those pixels are near the edge of a VOC plume, their 1-D temporal signals exhibit high-frequency behavior. The neural network generates high probability estimates for such pixels. If 1-D neural network generates high confidence values, final decision is reached using a deep convolutional neural network (CNN) which processes image frames. The overall structure is computationally efficient because the spatio-temporal CNN does not process all of the image frames of the captured video. Experimental results are presented.
The characteristics of hantanvirus Hunan03 strain S gene and the nucleoprotein structure prediction

Objective To analyze the conding region of hantanvirus S gene and predict the structure of nucleoprotein for diagnostic antigen study.Methods RT-PCR was used to amplify the S gene of hantanvirus Hunan03 strain after designing specific primers.The amplification product was cloned into pGM-T vector and then the recombinant vector was transformed into E.coli TOP10,gene sequencing was carried out after blue-white selection and PCR screening for positive clones.The database of NCBI and Swiss-Prot/TrEMBL were used to predict and analyze the structure,biological characteristics and protein structures of S gene.Results The amplification product was about 1290 bp,the pGM-T/S vector was constructed and successfully sequenced,the whole length of the open reading frame (ORF) was composed of 1290 nucleotide residues,among them the GC content was 44.11％ and the AT content was 55.89％,it was composed of 429 amino acids (20 kinds),the accession number of the sequence submitted to GenBank was JN712306,its homology of nucleotides to the 76-118 strain was 83％ and the homology of amino acids was 98％,ten nonspecific variation sites were found.The grand average of hydropathicity was-0.405.There were three transmembrane domains and four non transmembrane domains in the secondary structure of nucleoprotein including 55％ of helix structure,6.1％ of sheet structure and 38.9％ of loop structure.Conclusion The bioinformatics analysis of Hunan03 strain S gene might be important for provide the substructure data to reveal the significance of S gene characteristics on hemorrhagic fever renal syndrome (HFRS) prevention and control. Key words: Hantanvirus ; S gene ; Molecular characteristics ; Secondary structure ; Prediction
Implementation of a Comprehensive ST-Elevation Myocardial Infarction Protocol Improves Mortality Among Patients With ST-Elevation Myocardial Infarction and Cardiogenic Shock.

Mortality in patients with STEMI-associated cardiogenic shock (CS) is increasing. Whether a comprehensive ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) protocol (CSP) can improve their care delivery and mortality is unknown. We evaluated the impact of a CSP on incidence and outcomes in patients with STEMI-associated CS. We implemented a 4-step CSP including: (1) Emergency Department catheterization lab activation; (2) STEMI Safe Handoff Checklist; (3) immediate catheterization lab transfer; (4) and radial-first percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). We studied 1,272 consecutive STEMI patients who underwent PCI and assessed for CS incidence per National Cardiovascular Data Registry definitions within 24-hours of PCI, care delivery, and mortality before (January 1, 2011, to July 14, 2014; n = 723) and after (July 15, 2014, to December 31, 2016; n = 549) CSP implementation. Following CSP implementation, CS incidence was reduced (13.0% vs 7.8%, p = 0.003). Of 137 CS patients, 43 (31.4%) were in the CSP group. CSP patients had greater IABP-Shock II risk scores (1.9 ± 1.8 vs 2.8 ± 2.2, p = 0.014) with otherwise similar hemodynamic and baseline characteristics, cardiac arrest incidence, and mechanical circulatory support use. Administration of guideline-directed medical therapy was similar (89.4% vs 97.7%, p = 0.172) with significant improvements in trans-radial PCI (9.6% vs 44.2%, p < 0.001) and door-to-balloon time (129.0 [89:160] vs 95.0 [81:116] minutes, p = 0.001) in the CSP group, translating to improvements in infarct size (CK-MB 220.9 ± 156.0 vs 151.5 ± 98.5 ng/ml, p = 0.005), ejection fraction (40.8 ± 14.5% vs 46.7 ± 14.6%, p = 0.037), and in-hospital mortality (30.9% vs 14.0%, p = 0.037). In conclusion, CSP implementation was associated with improvements in CS incidence, infarct size, ejection fraction, and in-hospital mortality in patients with STEMI-associated CS. This strategy offers a potential solution to bridging the historically elusive gap in their care.
The consumption of stockholders and nonstockholders

Abstract Only one-fourth of U.S. families own stock. This paper examines whether the consumption of stockholders differs from the consumption of nonstockholders and, if so, whether these differences help explain the empirical failures of the consumption-based CAPM. Household panel data are used to construct time series on the consumption of each group. The results indicate that the consumption of stockholders is more volatile and more highly correlated with the excess return on the stock market. These differences help explain the size of the equity premium, although they do not fully resolve the equity premium puzzle.
Optical propagation across the Chesapeake Bay: comparison of experiment to theory

Optical propagation through deep turbulence is important to understand for applications such as free space optical communication The United States Naval Research Laboratory has maintained a 16 km range across the Chesapeake Bay for over a decade. A 1550 nm beam is transmitted from one end to the other where a variety of instruments measure optical parameters such as transmission, scintillation index, aperture averaging, and angle of arrival variation. In addition, meteorological parameters are collected using a weather station at CBD as well as NOAA buoys on the bay. In this work, we present comparisons of measurement optical scintillation index, distribution functions and aperture averaging to calculations using extended Rytov theory and and wave optics calculations.
Parenting Stress, Child Weight-Related Behaviors, and Child Weight Status.

Background: There has been limited examination of the association between parenting stress and child weight-related behaviors. We aimed to determine whether parenting stress is associated with chil...
Correlation of EEG with neuropsychological status in children with epilepsy

highlights abstract Objective: To determine correlations of the EEG frequency spectrum with neuropsychological status in children with idiopathic epilepsy. Methods: Forty-six children ages 8-18 years old with idiopathic epilepsy were retrospectively identified and analyzed for correlations between EEG spectra and neuropsychological status using multivariate linear regression. In addition, the theta/beta ratio, which has been suggested as a clinically useful EEG marker of attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), and an EEG spike count were calculated for each subject.
The Ambulatory Pediatric Association

The Ambulatory Pediatric Association (APA) held its 34th annual meeting in Seattle, Washington from May 2 to 5, 1994.1 Registrants participated in 31 workshops and 18 special interest groups. The Association of Ambulatory Pediatric Services held its first meeting in Swampscott, Massachusetts on May 2, 1960.2 Thirty-two pediatricians attended, most of whom were directors of pediatric outpatient departments (OPDs). The first Association of Ambulatory Pediatric Services scientific meeting was held at the Traymore Hotel in Atlantic City, New Jersey on May 3, 1961. Five of ten papers submitted were presented in one evening session. This essay describes the remarkable story of four decades of the APA and how this organization of over 1500 members became the recognized voice of ambulatory academic pediatrics.
It's not Henoch-Schönlein purpura (HSP)

In Reply.— Classification criteria have been established by the American College of Rheumatology (ACR) for the diagnosis of Henoch-Schoenlein purpura (HSP). These criteria include palpable purpura, age ≤20 years, bowel angina, and wall granulocytes on biopsy. The presence of two of four criteria is required for classification with a reported 87.1 % sensitivity and 87.7% specificity. The authors of the criteria recognized that the diagnosis of HSP is primarily clinical and that biopsies are rarely necessary to diagnose HSP in children.1
Ethnography on Stage

David Lan. Desire and Other Plays. London: Methuen, 1990. 176 pp. $9.95 (paper). Flight. London: Methuen, 1987. 40 pp. $7.95 (paper). Painting. Wall. London: Pluto Press, 1979. 25 pp. $3.95 (paper) Sargeant Ola and His Followers. London: Methuen, 1980. 45 pp. $4.95 (paper)
RUBELLA ANTIBODY AMONG PREGNANT WOMEN IN HAWAII.

Abstract Serum specimens from 228 pregnant women in Hilo and Honolulu, Hawaii, were tested for neutralizing antibody to rubella. Sixty per cent of the patients did not have antibody to rubella and may be considered susceptible to infection. Susceptibility was not correlated with the reported ethnic back-ground of the parents of the pregnant patients or the history of living only in Hawaii. The high frequency of susceptible women would be of considerable medical importance should rubella become epidemic in Hawaii.
DNA bending, flexibility, and helical repeat by cyclization kinetics.

Publisher Summary This chapter discusses experimental approaches to the measurement of ring closure probability ( J factor or Jacobson–Stockmayer factor) and the theory used to analyze ring closure, and thereby obtain fundamental physical information from the J factor. It illustrates these procedures with examples from the cyclization of bent DNA molecules (A tract multimers) and recent work on the application of cyclization methods to protein–DNA complexes. Cyclization kinetics is unusual among molecular biological techniques in its requirement for computation of the properties of models to interpret the experimental results in anything more than a highly qualitative way. The theory of cyclization kinetics can also be applied to other systems where DNA assumes conformations and where its ends are fixed in a defined spatial orientation. In vivo and in vitro results on lac repressor-mediated DNA loops have been interpreted using the cyclization paradigm, and the enhancement of cyclization has been used to provide evidence for looping. The chapter also highlights the analysis of topoisomer distributions established by ligation under various conditions that can provide complementary information to that available from cyclization kinetics.
A PWM rectifier control technique for three-phase double conversion UPS under unbalanced load

PWM rectifiers are widely used in three-phase ac-dc-ac systems due to its capability in dc voltage boost and regulation, input power factor correction, and input current harmonic control. However, with the conventional rectifier control technique, the input current tends to be unbalanced under unbalanced inverter load, which contaminates input power source and is therefore undesirable. In this paper, the cause of the unbalancing is disclosed by evaluating the spectra of the switching functions of the full bridge three-phase inverter analytically using Bessel function under standard space vector PWM switching scheme, which relates the dc link current and voltage ripples to the inverter load balancing. The analysis shows that the dc link voltage contains significant second order harmonic component which affects the voltage loop of the rectifier controller, especially when the control gain is high. A notch filter based voltage control loop is proposed to eliminate the second harmonic component in the dc-link voltage feedback signal and achieve balanced three-phase input currents. Simulation and experimental results are presented to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed control technique in decoupling the rectifier and the inverter under unbalanced load.
Sleep Disorders in Children: Collaboration for School-Based Intervention.

The effects of sleep disturbance on children are wide ranging and include alterations in behavior, mood, cognition, and academic performance. Screening and intervention for pediatric sleep disorders within the schools are not widely implemented, and the concept of integrating school personnel into the multidisciplinary sleep team has yet to be realized. This article describes some of the major sleep disorders, the effects on overall function, and the results of outcome studies that have used school-based intervention. The article concludes with recommendations for incorporation of school personnel, including teachers and school psychologists, into the multidisciplinary sleep team, as these individuals are in a unique position to provide observations and assessment information concerning initial screening and intervention outcomes.
Convergence of auditory nerve fibers onto bushy cells in the ventral cochlear nucleus: implications of a computational model.

1. Convergence of auditory nerve (AN) fibers onto bushy cells of the ventral cochlear nucleus (VCN) was investigated with a model that describes the electrical membrane properties of these cells. T...
Using a neural network to predict test case effectiveness

Test cases based on command language or program language descriptions have been generated automatically for at least two decades. More recently, domain based testing (DBT) was proposed as an alternative method. Automated test data generation decreases test generation time and cost, but we must evaluate its effectiveness. We report on an experiment with a neural network as a classifier to learn about the system under test and to predict the fault exposure capability of newly generated test cases. The network is trained on test case metric input data and fault severity level output parameters. Results show that a neural net can be an effective approach to test case effectiveness prediction. The neural net formalizes and objectively evaluates some of the testing folklore and rules-of-thumb that are system specific and often require many years of testing experience. >
FlbT couples flagellum assembly to gene expression in Caulobacter crescentus

The biogenesis of the polar flagellum of Caulobacter crescentus is regulated by the cell cycle as well as by a trans-acting regulatory hierarchy that functions to couple flagellum assembly to gene expression. The assembly of early flagellar structures (MS ring, switch, and flagellum-specific secretory system) is required for the transcription of class III genes, which encode the remainder of the basal body and the external hook structure. Similarly, the assembly of class III gene-encoded structures is required for the expression of the class IV flagellins, which are incorporated into the flagellar filament. Here, we demonstrate that mutations in flbT, a flagellar gene of unknown function, can restore flagellin protein synthesis and the expression of fljK::lacZ (25-kDa flagellin) protein fusions in class III flagellar mutants. These results suggest that FlbT functions to negatively regulate flagellin expression in the absence of flagellum assembly. Deletion analysis shows that sequences within the 5′ untranslated region of the fljK transcript are sufficient for FlbT regulation. To determine the mechanism of FlbT-mediated regulation, we assayed the stability of fljK mRNA. The half-life (t1/2) of fljK mRNA in wild-type cells was approximately 11 min and was reduced to less than 1.5 min in a flgE (hook) mutant. A flgE flbT double mutant exhibited an mRNA t1/2 of greater than 30 min. This suggests that the primary effect of FlbT regulation is an increased turnover of flagellin mRNA. The increased t1/2 of fljK mRNA in a flbT mutant has consequences for the temporal expression of fljK. In contrast to the case for wild-type cells, fljK::lacZ protein fusions in the mutant are expressed almost continuously throughout the C. crescentus cell cycle, suggesting that coupling of flagellin gene expression to assembly has a critical influence on regulating cell cycle expression.
Oral glucose tolerance tests and their reliability.

Abstract Standardized oral glucose tolerance tests have been performed on over 200 normal children who did not have a family history of diabetes, and their values have been compared with a group of siblings of children with overt diabetes mellitus. Values in the normal children are averaged at each time period without reference to the total curve on the individual child. The means, medians, standard deviations, and percentile values were calculated. Percentile values were chosen for use, since glucose values are not equally distributed about the mean. There is skewing toward the higher values especially at the 1 2 - and 1-hr values. In siblings of diabetics, fasting values are not different from the normals. The skewing toward higher values at 1 2 and 1 hr is more evident in the sibling group. This skewing is still evident at 2 hr in these children. Normal data on the serum insulin response to oral glucose have also been determined, as has the response of glucose and insulin during the triamcinalone glucose tolerance test. These tests are of value in evaluating children for chemical diabetes and for longitudinal study of the metabolic abnormalities of the disease.
Hierarchical Composite Synchronization

This paper presents a hierarchical composite synchronization algorithm for parallel discrete-event simulation. The composite approach combines an asynchronous CMB-style channel scanning method with a synchronous window-based method to avoid pathological situations where neither synchronization algorithms would perform optimally. The hierarchical approach addresses the discrepancy in the communication and synchronization cost for shared-memory multiprocessor multicore machines and for distributed-memory machines. The paper describes a performance model for the hierarchical composite algorithm and proposes a method for predicting the runtime empirically using linear regression. Experiment results show that the model can predict the overall performance of the hierarchical composite algorithm. A significant performance improvement has been observed over different combinations of the traditional asynchronous and synchronous approaches used separately for distributed-memory machines and on shared-memory multiprocessor multicore machines.
Comments on “A Winter Mesocyclone over the Midwestern United States”

Ces commentaires mettent en evidence les avantages d'une analyse detaillee de surface isotherme dans le cas de cyclones associes aux masses d'air polaire
The origins of neocortex: Connections and lamination as distinct events in evolution

In the nonmammalian telencephalon, there are neuronal populations corresponding to cell groups in the neocortex of mammals in terms of connections, single unit-responses, chemical content, and functions. Some of these populations in nonmammals, however, are organized in a nonlaminar, rather than laminar fashion. These observations may prompt a reassessment of the functional roles of lamination and the evolutionary origins of the mammalian neocortex. Thus, the role of neural circuits and laminar organization can be differentiated in order to understand the cognitive functions of the neocortex. Moreover, the origins of neocortex can be separable into the precursors of nonlaminar and laminar regions.
Light chain (AL) amyloidosis in the central nervous system (CNS).

Abstract: Immunoglobulin light chain amyloidosis involving the brain is very rare. In a few cases of CNS amyloidosis, Ig light chain protein has been characterized from biopsy or autopsy tissue. A ...
Nitric Oxide (NO·) Protects Against N-Methyl D-Aspartate(NMDA)-induced Neuronal Injury by Modification of NMDA Receptor-mediated Increases in Intracellular Calcium † 1906

Nitric Oxide (NO·) Protects Against N-Methyl D-Aspartate(NMDA)-induced Neuronal Injury by Modification of NMDA Receptor-mediated Increases in Intracellular Calcium † 1906
Spectral separability of tropical forest cover classes

Spectral separability analysis of various tropical forest cover classes as recorded on Landsat MSS data were carried out for two test areas of northeastern India. The results indicated that two den...
Surface tension of amino acid solutions: A hydrophobicity scale of the amino acid residues

Abstract The surface tensions of amino acids in 0.10 m NaCl have been measured as a function of the concentration of the amino acids at 30 °C using the method of Jones and Ray. From the experimental results, the free energies of transfer of the amino acid residues from the solution to the surface have been calculated to yield a hydrophobicity scale of the residues. This scale is in fairly good agreement with that of Nozaki and Tanford. The temperature coefficient of the free energy of transfer of leucine residues to the surface gives about +10 entropy units per mole with an enthalpy of about +560 cal per mole at 30 °C.
Two Plant Viral Suppressors of Silencing Require the Ethylene-Inducible Host Transcription Factor RAV2 to Block RNA Silencing

RNA silencing is a highly conserved pathway in the network of interconnected defense responses that are activated during viral infection. As a counter-defense, many plant viruses encode proteins that block silencing, often also interfering with endogenous small RNA pathways. However, the mechanism of action of viral suppressors is not well understood and the role of host factors in the process is just beginning to emerge. Here we report that the ethylene-inducible transcription factor RAV2 is required for suppression of RNA silencing by two unrelated plant viral proteins, potyvirus HC-Pro and carmovirus P38. Using a hairpin transgene silencing system, we find that both viral suppressors require RAV2 to block the activity of primary siRNAs, whereas suppression of transitive silencing is RAV2-independent. RAV2 is also required for many HC-Pro-mediated morphological anomalies in transgenic plants, but not for the associated defects in the microRNA pathway. Whole genome tiling microarray experiments demonstrate that expression of genes known to be required for silencing is unchanged in HC-Pro plants, whereas a striking number of genes involved in other biotic and abiotic stress responses are induced, many in a RAV2-dependent manner. Among the genes that require RAV2 for induction by HC-Pro are FRY1 and CML38, genes implicated as endogenous suppressors of silencing. These findings raise the intriguing possibility that HC-Pro-suppression of silencing is not caused by decreased expression of genes that are required for silencing, but instead, by induction of stress and defense responses, some components of which interfere with antiviral silencing. Furthermore, the observation that two unrelated viral suppressors require the activity of the same factor to block silencing suggests that RAV2 represents a control point that can be readily subverted by viruses to block antiviral silencing.
Annual direct cost of urinary incontinence.

Abstract OBJECTIVE: To estimate the annual direct cost of urinary incontinence in 1995 US dollars. METHODS: Epidemiologically based models using diagnostic and treatment algorithms from published clinical practice guidelines and current disease prevalence data were used to estimate direct costs of urinary incontinence. Prevalence and event probability estimates were obtained from literature sources, national data sets, small surveys, and expert opinion. Average national Medicare reimbursement was used to estimate costs, which were determined separately by gender, age group, and type of incontinence. Sensitivity analyses were performed on all variables. RESULTS: The annual direct cost of urinary incontinence in the United States (in 1995 dollars) was estimated as $16.3 billion, including $12.4 billion (76%) for women and $3.8 billion (24%) for men. Costs for community-dwelling women ($8.6 billion, 69% of costs for women) were greater than for institutionalized women ($3.8 billion, 31%). Costs for women over 65 years of age were more than twice the costs for those under 65 years ($7.6 and $3.6 billion, respectively). The largest cost category was routine care (70% of costs for women), followed by nursing home admissions (14%), treatment (9%), complications (6%), and diagnosis and evaluations (1%). Costs were most sensitive to changes in incontinence prevalence, routine care costs, and institutionalization rates and costs. CONCLUSION: Urinary incontinence is a very costly condition, with annual expenditures similar to other chronic diseases in women.
Catalytic reduction of NO2 in nanocrystalline NaY zeolite

Abstract In this study, in situ transmission FT-IR spectroscopy was employed to investigate the thermal and selective catalytic reduction of NO 2 with propylene in nanocrystalline NaY zeolite. NO was the major product in the thermal reduction of NO 2 . In absence of oxygen and water, selective catalytic reduction of NO 2 with propylene at low temperatures ( T ≤ 473 K) resulted in the complete reduction of NO 2 to N 2 and O 2 . Isocyanate and nitrile species formed on extra framework alumina sites are found to be important intermediates. Based on kinetic studies, a pathway involving radical reactions appears to be the most plausible mechanism for the complete reduction of NO 2 .
Characterization of color-related properties of displays for medical applications

This paper addresses characterization of color-related properties of softcopy displays used in medical image interpretation. Four Liquid Crystal Displays (LCD) were studied, three of them were color displays and one of them was monochrome. Physical evaluation was conducted on all the displays. Luminance and chrominance response, white point, color primaries and color gamut were evaluated. Results showed that when color displays were used to present grayscale clinical images, their performance could be inferior to using monochrome displays. This is because of the addition of color filters. When color displays were used to present color clinical images, the rendition could be totally different on different color displays because of their different color gamuts. A calibration standard or guideline for color as well as grayscale calibration is necessary for color displays used for medical applications which is currently absent.
Health status in patients with chronic fatigue syndrome and in general population and disease comparison groups

purpose To measure the functional status and well-being of patients with chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS), and compare them with those of a general population group and six disease comparison groups. patients and methods The subjects of the study were patients with CFS (n = 223) from a CFS clinic, a population-based control sample (n = 2,474), and disease comparison groups with hypertension (n = 2,089), congestive heart failure (n = 216), type II diabetes mellitus (n = 163), acute myocardial infarction (n = 107), multiple sclerosis (n = 25), and depression (n = 502). We measured functional status and wellbeing using the Medical Outcomes Study 36-Item Short-Form Health Survey (SF-36), which is a self-administered questionnaire in which lower scores are indicative of greater impairment. results: Patients with CFS had far lower mean scores than the general population control subjects on all eight SF-36 scales. They also scored significantly lower than patients in all the disease comparison groups other than depression on virtually all the scales. When compared with patients with depression, they scored significantly lower on all the scales except for scales measuring mental health and role disability due to emotional problems, on which they scored significantly higher. The two SF-36 scales reflecting mental health were not correlated with any of the symptoms of CFS except for irritability and depression. conclusion Patients with CFS had marked impairment, in comparison with the general population and disease comparison groups. Moreover, the degree and pattern of impairment was different from that seen in patients with depression.
The IA-2 interactome.

Aims/hypothesis Islet antigen-2 (IA-2), a major autoantigen in type 1 diabetes, is an enzymatically inactive member of the transmembrane protein tyrosine phosphatase (PTP) family. IA-2 is located in dense-core secretory vesicles and is involved in the regulation of insulin secretion. The present experiments were initiated to identify those proteins that interact with IA-2 (i.e. the IA-2 interactome) as a first step towards elucidating the mechanism(s) by which IA-2 influences insulin secretion and serves as an autoantigen.
Preliminary Efficacy of Adapted Responsive Teaching for Infants at Risk of Autism Spectrum Disorder in a Community Sample

This study examined the (a) feasibility of enrolling 12-month-olds at risk of ASD from a community sample into a randomized controlled trial, (b) subsequent utilization of community services, and (c) potential of a novel parent-mediated intervention to improve outcomes. The First Year Inventory was used to screen and recruit 12-month-old infants at risk of ASD to compare the effects of 6–9 months of Adapted Responsive Teaching (ART) versus referral to early intervention and monitoring (REIM). Eighteen families were followed for ~20 months. Assessments were conducted before randomization, after treatment, and at 6-month follow-up. Utilization of community services was highest for the REIM group. ART significantly outperformed REIM on parent-reported and observed measures of child receptive language with good linear model fit. Multiphase growth models had better fit for more variables, showing the greatest effects in the active treatment phase, where ART outperformed REIM on parental interactive style (less directive), child sensory responsiveness (less hyporesponsive), and adaptive behavior (increased communication and socialization). This study demonstrates the promise of a parent-mediated intervention for improving developmental outcomes for infants at risk of ASD in a community sample and highlights the utility of earlier identification for access to community services earlier than standard practice.
A rank test for equality of two multivariate populations vs a particular ordered alternative

A test is presented for testing equality of two multivariate populations versus the alternative that the component wise differences between the two populations are ordered. A bootstrap estimate of the variance of the test statistic is proposed and the limiting distribution of the standardized form of the test statistic is shown to be N(0,1). Methods for conducting two-stage tests and an interim analysis are also presented. The joint null limiting distributions for the two-stage test statistics and the interim analysis test statistics are each shown to be bivariate normal.
Continental Drift before 1900

The idea that Francis Bacon and other seventeenth and eighteenth century thinkers first conceived the notion of continental drift does not stand up to close scrutiny. The few authors who expressed the idea viewed the process as a catastrophic event.