cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Multicenter evaluation of pharmacologic management and outcomes associated with severe resistant alcohol withdrawal

Abstract Introduction A subset of patients with alcohol withdrawal syndrome does not respond to benzodiazepine treatment despite escalating doses. Resistant alcohol withdrawal (RAW) is associated with higher incidences of mechanical ventilation and nosocomial pneumonia and longer intensive care unit (ICU) stay. The objective of this study is to characterize pharmacologic management of RAW and outcomes. Methods Adult patients were identified retrospectively via International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision codes for severe alcohol withdrawal from 2009 to 2012 at 3 hospitals. Data collected included pharmacologic management and clinical outcomes. Results A total of 184 patients met inclusion criteria. Sixteen medications and 74 combinations of medications were used for management. Propofol was the most common adjunct agent, with dexmedetomidine and antipsychotics also used. One hundred seventy-five patients (96.2%) were admitted to the ICU, with 149 patients (81.9%) requiring ventilator support. Median time to resolution of alcohol withdrawal syndrome from RAW designation was 6.0 days. Median ICU and hospital length of stay were 9.0 and 12.7 days, respectively. Conclusion Diverse patterns exist in the management of patients meeting RAW criteria, indicating lack of refined approach to treatment. High doses of sedatives used for these patients may result in a high level of care, illustrating a need for evidence-based clinical guidelines to optimize outcomes.
Performance of a sealed-off CO2-isotope laser amplifier for high resolution optical radar/lidar applications

The essential features and performance characteristics of a narrowband isotopic CO2 laser amplifier system are described. Sealed-off operation with over 30 dB net power gain, negligible frequency chirp and up to 70 microsec pulse duration, 300 mJ pulse energy, and 10 Hz pulse repetition rate have been achieved.
Scanning tunneling microscopy of Ag growth on GaAs(110) at 300 K: From clusters to crystallites.

Scanning-tunneling-microscopy (STM) studies of Ag overlayer growth on GaAs(110) at 300 K show cluster nucleation at low coverage followed by conversion to nanocrystallites with distinct facets. Clusters formed by depositions below \ensuremath{\sim}0.5 monolayer (ML) Ag exhibit no apparent preferential substrate orientation, and individual atoms within the clusters cannot be resolved. These are three-dimensional (3D) clusters, as shown by calculations of cluster volumes and areas based on the STM images, and they contain up to \ensuremath{\sim}250 atoms. Continued deposition yields new small clusters in addition to the growth of existing clusters and the coalescing of clusters in close proximity. By \ensuremath{\sim}5 ML deposition the Ag structures exhibit crystalline order and expose {111} facets. The evolution from clusters to crystallites also involves a preferential orientation so that [11\ifmmode\bar\else\textasciimacron\fi{}0] of Ag is parallel to [11\ifmmode\bar\else\textasciimacron\fi{}0] of GaAs(110) and the Ag overlayer (111) plane is tilted 25\ifmmode^\circ\else\textdegree\fi{} around the [11\ifmmode\bar\else\textasciimacron\fi{}0] direction of GaAs(110). The overlayer derived from these 3D crystallites is then highly irregular, and contact with the partially relaxed GaAs(110) surface is achieved through regularly stepped Ag(110) planes. These results demonstrate weak substrate interaction and cooperative Ag rearrangement to minimize surface energies, even at 300 K.
SU‐GG‐T‐24: Adaptive Planning for Neurofibro Sarcoma of Thigh on Helical Tomotherapy

Purpose: The presented study shares our experience of treating neurofibro sarcoma of thigh in two young patients using Helical TomoTherapy. Method and Materials: A lead shield was used to optimize the dose to the testes that reduced the scatter dose to testes by a factor of 10. Patient A was treated to a dose of 24 Gy delivered in b.i.d fractions of 1.2 Gy in 20 fractions and patient B to a dose of 50.4 Gy in 28 fractions with 1.8 Gy per fraction. For both patients kVCT images were used for planning with no testical shielding. A hypothetical contour was also used on the kVCT image to estimate the location of the lead shield that to be used during the treatment. In order to analyze the accuracy of delivered dose with the effect of a lead shield, adaptive planning was used for both patients.A body fix was used for the reproducibility of position for daily treatment.Results: The two significant ROI's in these cases were femurs and femoral heads. It was observed in case A that the shield position was placed at right location with respect to the plan and hence no changes were made. For patient B it was noted that the size of the lead shield contoured on the kVCT image were larger than actual size. In this case, a new adaptive plan was generated. The average dose to PTV in original and adaptive plan differ by 0.08 % but the average dose to right femur head alone is reduced almost up to 25%. Conclusion:Treatment of the upper thigh involves complications, as there are significant critical organs in such circumstances the adaptive planning plays an important role in finding correct dose distribution to ROI's and critical organs.
Systemic gene expression after intravenous DNA delivery into adult mice

Direct gene transfer into adult animals resulting in generalized or tissue-specific expression would facilitate rapid analysis of transgene effects and allow precise in vivo manipulation of biologic processes at the molecular level. A single intravenous injection of expression plasmid:cationic liposome complexes into adult mice efficiently transfected virtually all tissues. In addition to vascular endothelial cells, most of the extravascular parenchymal cells present in many tissues including the lung, spleen, lymph nodes, and bone marrow expressed the transgene without any apparent treatment-related toxicity. The transgene was still expressed in large numbers of cells in multiple tissues for at least 9 weeks after a single injection. Expression could be targeted to specific tissues and cell types, depending on the promoter element used.
Two distinct subpopulations of ecdysone receptor complex in the female mosquito during vitellogenesis

The native functional ecdysone receptor complex, a heterodimer of the ecdysone receptor (EcR) and ultraspiracle (USP) proteins, was identified in the fat body of adult female mosquitoes, Aedes aegypti, through electrophoretic mobility shift assays (EMSA) using previously characterized Drosophila ecdysone response elements (EcREs). The use of different salt concentrations during preparation of nuclear extracts enabled us to characterize two distinct subpopulations of the receptor complex, one of which was high salt-sensitive and responsive to exogenous 20-hydroxyecdysone (20E), and the other of which was high salt-resistant and refractory to exogenous 20E. Salt-sensitivity correlated with ligand responsiveness. Developmental EMSA analyses demonstrated that previtellogenic fat body nuclei and nuclei from the termination phase of vitellogenesis with low 20E titer contained solely high-salt-sensitive, ligand responsive complexes, which could be recovered in nuclear extracts (NEs) only by low salt tissue homogenization, suggesting these complexes were unliganded. In contrast, the fat body nuclei from stages of active vitellogenesis with high 20E titer contained almost exclusively high salt-resistant, ligand refractory complexes, implying these complexes were liganded; the nuclei from the intermediate stages, early and late phases of vitellogenesis, contained a mixture of the two subpopulations. The developmental profile of fully activated, ligand refractory receptor complexes closely correlated with that of yolk protein expression, suggesting an intimate involvement of the ecdysone receptor complex in both the induction and maintenance of high level expression of yolk protein genes.
Demographics of pediatric head and neck infections in a tertiary care hospital.

Educational Objective: Discuss potential patterns in the epidemiology of infectious disease of the head and neck. Study Objectives: To investigate patterns in the epidemiology of severe head and neck infections that may reflect the impact of host factors. Study Design: Population-based, historic cohort study. Methods: Information on 1,010, incident head and neck infections occurring over a 5-year period was reviewed for demographics, location, and time of year. A nonparametric Kruskal-Wallis test was used to identify significant differences in the age distributions among the diagnosis groups. A Bonferroni, pair-wise comparison procedure was used for comparison of the average age of first onset of severe head and neck infections. Chi-square test was used to identify any significant association between season of the year and disease. Results: Significant differences were identified in the age distributions among the diagnosis groups (P < .001). The average age of first onset of cellulitis of the neck and retropharyngeal abscess is earlier than peritonsillar abscess, at 2 to 3 years and 13 years, respectively. Parapharyngeal and periapical abscesses and cellulitis of the face occur at approximately age 6. The incidence of parapharyngeal abscess and diseases of the pharynx is decreased during Spring, whereas peritonsillar abscesses and acute periodontitis occurs more often in Spring and Summer. Age does not appear to be related to season of first occurrence. Conclusions: Head and neck infections are not random occurrences based on exposure alone; host factors are clearly important. Given the lack of correlation with school age, the results cannot be explained on the basis of exposure alone. Developmental patterns of the host immune response may be related to the age differential identified in the current study and are cause for further investigation.
We're from Oz: Marking Ethnic and Sexual Identity in Chicago

In 1998 the City of Chicago installed street furniture (including twenty-two twenty-three-foot-high, illuminated, rainbow-ringed pylons) designed to mark a gay neighborhood known as Boys Town. In this paper I describe the historical context for this project and the debates it occasioned in a US context where, sociologists suggest, sexual and ethnic identities are increasingly convergent. I challenge, from a visual-studies perspective, the values attached to invisibility by critics who would prefer that sexual identity remain unmarked.
On the intersection of finitely generated subgroups in free products of groups

A subgroup H of a free product of groups Gα, α∈ I, is called factor free if for every and β ∈ I one has S H S-1∩ Gβ = {1} (by Kurosh theorem on subgroups of free products, factor free subgroups are free). If K is a finitely generated free group, denote , where r(K) is the rank of K. It is proven that if H, K are finitely generated factor free subgroups of a free product then . It is also shown that the inequality of Hanna Neumann conjecture on subgroups of free groups does not hold for factor free subgroups of free products.
The Role of the Vagus Nerve in Cytokine-to-Brain Communication

Peripheral interleukin-1 beta (IL-beta) and inflammatory stimuli that induce the synthesis and release of IL-1 beta produce a variety of central nervous system responses. Most proposals designed to explain how peripheral IL-1 beta influences the CNS have focused on blood-borne routes of communication. We will review data that indicate that at least some of the CNS response to peripheral IL-1 beta are instead mediated by a neural route of communication between the periphery and the CNS. IL-1 beta activates afferent vagal fibers that terminate in the nucleus tractus solitarius, and communication via the vagus is responsible for much of the hyperalgesia, fever, anorexia, taste aversions, increased levels of plasma corticosteroid, and brain norepinephrine changes produced by intraperitoneal injections of IL-1 beta and LPS. Data extending this analysis to TNF-alpha and intravenous routes will be described.
A new murine model of giant proximal axonopathy

The aromatic gamma-diketone 1,2-diacetylbenzene (1,2-DAB), the putative active metabolite of the organic solvent 1,2-diethylbenzene, forms blue-colored polymeric protein adducts and induces the formation of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS)-like giant, intraspinal neurofilamentous axonal swellings in Sprague Dawley rats. The pathogenetic mechanism of this neuropathy has yet to be understood. We assessed whether these pathological changes are also seen in the C57BL/6 mouse, the animal of choice for toxicogenomic studies. Mice were treated intraperitoneally with 30, 35, 50, or 70 mg/kg 1,2-DAB or its inactive isomer 1,3-DAB per day (or on alternate days) for up to 43 days. Animals treated with 30 or 35 mg/kg per day 1,2-DAB, but not with 1,3-DAB, developed muscle spasms and progressive weakness, most prominently in hind limbs. Light microscopy revealed swollen axons in spinal anterior horns and proximal ventral roots, and to a lesser extent in dorsal root ganglia of 1,2-DAB-treated animals. Ultrastructural examination of swollen axons revealed clumps of maloriented 10-nm neurofilaments. Sciatic nerves showed clustering of axonal microtubules and other organelles. These findings are qualitatively comparable to those reported in rats treated with 1,2-DAB and represent a suitable phenotype with which to explore molecular mechanisms of proximal, giant neurofilamentous axonopathy using proteomic and genomic technologies.
The influence of surface roughness on wear

Abstract A series of wear experiments utilizing a ball-plane configuration was performed to determine the influence of both the magnitude and anisotropy of the surface roughness on wear. It was found that: (1) wear increases with increasing roughness up to ~ V16 finish and remains relatively constant above that roughness and (2) sliding perpendicular to the lay increases wear above that for sliding parallel, with the difference becoming negligible for the finer roughness. A method of analytically relating the results obtained for ball-plane geometry to other geometries is developed.
Preliminary findings of the effects of rivastigmine, an acetylcholinesterase inhibitor, on working memory in cocaine-dependent volunteers.

Long-term cocaine use is a risk factor for the onset of neurocognitive impairment. This study sought to determine whether the cholinesterase inhibitor rivastigmine could improve neurocognitive performance in cocaine-dependent individuals. Cocaine-dependent individuals who were not seeking treatment at the time of enrollment in the study were randomly assigned to receive placebo (n = 16), rivastigmine 3 mg (n = 13), or rivastigmine 6 mg (n = 12). The baseline neurocognitive assessment, which included measures of attention/information processing (as measured by the Continuous Performance Task-II (CPT-II)), verbal learning/episodic memory (as measured by the Hopkins Verbal Learning Test-Revised (HVLT-R)), and working memory (as measured by the Dual N-Back Task), was conducted prior to the administration of study medication (Day 0). The follow-up assessment was conducted on Day 8 after the participants had received rivastigmine or placebo for 7 days (Day 2–8). Rivastigmine administration significantly improved performance on one measure of working memory span (mean n-back span). This study provides additional data showing that cocaine-associated neurocognitive impairment, specifically working memory deficits, can be remediated, at least to some degree.
Drinking Water, Fluid Intake, and Bladder Cancer in Western New York

Abstract Fluid intake and consumption of specific beverages were investigated in a study of 351 white male cases for whom transitional cell carcinoma of the bladder had been confirmed histologically during the time period from 1979 to 1985. A total of 855 white male controls was selected from Erie, Niagara, and Monroe counties of western New York state. Total fluid consumption was composed of alcoholic beverages, bottled beverages, soda, milk, coffee, tea, all juices, and glasses of tap water. Tap water included coffee, tea, juices, and glasses of water taken directly from the tap. Total fluid consumption was found to be a strong risk factor for bladder cancer when a number of potential confounding risk factors were controlled for. Risks were higher among those who were less than 65 y of age (odds ratio [OR] = 6.3, 95% C.I. = 2.8-14.0). The OR was 3.4 (95% C.I. = 1.8-6.2) for the highest quartile of fluid consumption among those 65 y of age and older. The tap water component was associated with increased ...
CORRELATION OF EARLY PALEOGENE GLOBAL DIVERSITY PATTERNS OF LARGE BENTHIC FORAMINIFERA WITH PALEOCENE AND EOCENE CLIMATIC EVENTS

Large benthic foraminifera (LBF) were major contributors to many Paleogene carbonate platforms around the world. These photosymbiotic foraminifera lived in warm, oligotrophic, shallow waters within the photic zone. Such Paleogene families as the nummulitids, alveolinids, and orthophragminids rose to prominence in the late Paleocene, thrived in the early and middle Eocene, and declined in the late Eocene and Oligocene. Diversity data from these three families were studied to understand better the controls on the rise of Paleogene LBFs. Analyzed data included total diversity (total number of species per biozone), number of first occurrences per biozone, and number of last occurrences per biozone. Results indicate that there were four intervals of increased total diversity, increased first occurrence, and increased last occurrence for all three families studied. These four intervals follow closely after important climatic events within the Paleogene: the mid-Paleocene biotic event (MPBE), the Paleocene–Eocene thermal maximum (PETM, a hyperthermal event), the early Eocene Climatic Optimum (EECO) and the middle Eocene Climatic Optimum (MECO). The shallow marine biotic community, on a global scale, reacted to such climatic warming events as the MPBE, PETM, EECO, and MECO, based on these diversity trends. Our data also show a pattern of an increase in the number of last occurrences followed by an increase in the number of first occurrences, which suggests that the overall increase in species diversity is due to faunal turnover, as has been interpreted for the large benthic foraminiferal turnover that occurred at the PETM.
Lens Space resonators

A generalization of the Mobius resonator [1, 2] to higher Lens Spaces [3] is considered. A simple expression is derived that defines the resonant frequencies of the mode families for different Lens Spaces. Experimental results are shown to yield excellent agreement with the derived expressions. It is also shown that other modes can exist is a practical implementation which operate at modes that are forbidden for the Lens Space modes.
New Phenomena in Dilute 2D Electron Systems

Recent experiments in dilute, strongly interacting two-dimensional systems of electrons (and holes) have revealed unexpected and dramatic behavior: an apparent transition to a conducting phase, and an enormous increase in resistivity in reponse to in-plane magnetic fields. These features are currently the focus of intense theoretical and experimental attention.
SPECTROSCOPIC ORIGINS AND APPLICATIONS OF WHITE-LIGHT REFLECTION HOLOGRAPHY

Spectroscopic and interferometric foundations are basic to the new developments in holographic imaging which, in turn, have been found to have important applications to spectroscopy and indeed to interferometry. Some previously unpublished work is described, notably that related to the recent development of the " white-light reflection hologram " by G. W. Strolte and A. E. Labeyrie.
TGF‐β induces novel Lef‐1 splice variants through a Smad‐independent signaling pathway

The lymphoid enhancer-binding factor (Lef-1) transcription factor is best known for the ability to transduce Wnt signals during development and to mediate excessive Wnt signaling in certain types of cancer. We recently identified and characterized a novel Wnt-like effect of transforming growth factor-beta (TGF-β) on β-catenin, the binding partner of Lef-1. Therefore, we sought to determine the effect of TGF-β on expression of the Lef/T-cell–specific transcription factor (TCF) components of the Wnt pathway. We found that TGF-β markedly induced Lef-1 mRNA expression in cell lines originating from fetal lung (Mv1Lu) and newborn skin (Balb/MK), tissues that normally express Lef-1 during development. Lef-1 induction was temporally related to but independent of TGF-β–induced G1 cell cycle arrest. Furthermore, the induction of Lef-1 was independent of both new protein synthesis and Smad-mediated signaling. Using TGF-β–treated Mv1Lu cells, we identified multiple splice forms of Lef-1, including novel variants that lack both exons 2 and 3. We conclude that the induction of Lef-1 has permissive effects on the well-characterized TGF-β signal that inhibits c-myc expression and induces a G1 arrest. Developmental Dynamics 232:969–978, 2005. © 2005 Wiley-Liss, Inc.
Basic needs: the case of Sri Lanka.

This article has two related objectives: to judge Sri Lanka's success in meeting its basic needs and growth objectives, and to use Sri Lanka's experience to cast light on general hypotheses regarding basic needs. The analysis suggests that Sri Lanka's social expenditures had a substantial cost in growth and unemployment. However, largely because of these social programs, it has the best social indicators, compared to its income, of any country for which data are available. Its growth has been above average for low income countries. Implications for basic needs programs include the need to target social programs, the high priority of primary education and the potential high impact as well as high costs, of assuring minimum caloric intakes.
Surface properties of rat reticulocytes during maturation as measured by partition: membrane charge-associated changes discerned prior to membrane lipid-related changes.

Summary Partition of cells in dextran-polyethylene glycol aqueous phases is an extremely sensitive method for separating cells and for tracing subtle changes in the cells’membrane surface as a function of differentiation, maturation and ageing. By appropriate manipulation of polymer concentration and ionic composition and concentration one can select, to a great extent, the membrane properties (e.g. charge-associated, lipid-related) that will determine the cells’partition coefficient. Combining radioiosotopic labelling and cell countercurrent distribution techniques we have previously reported rapid increases in charge-associated partition coefficients during rat reticulocyte maturation followed by slower decreases in the partition coefficients during the entire life span of the mature erythrocyte. In the present experiments red blood cell populations containing radioisotopically labelled cells of different and distinct ages have been subjected to countercurrent distribution in phase systems reflecting either membrane charge-associated or lipid-related characteristics. It was found that: (a) membrane lipid-related surface properties change rapidly during reticulocyte maturation; (b) membrane charge-associated changes during reticulocyte maturation are discerned prior to those that are lipid-related; and (c) lipid-related membrane changes continue slowly throughout the entire life-span of the erythrocyte. The sensitivity with which red cell membrane lipid-related differences or changes can be detected and measured by cell partition suggests great usefulness of this simple method in the study of abnormalities in red cell lipids.
The (matrix) discriminant as a determinant

Abstract For a square matrix we present one or two matrices whose determinant equals the discriminant. In certain cases this leads to the expansion of the discriminant as a sum of squares. The real symmetric and real skew-symmetric cases are treated in detail with an elementary proof of a result of Ilyushechkin.
Professional Development for Cross-Border Managers: New Growth Opportunities for Executive Education

The need of business enterprises for professionals trained for the challenges of cross-border assignments will increase exponentially through the decade. Business schools will be hard pressed to deliver programs with the scope, scale, and effectiveness necessary to address the unique competencies required for cross-cultural understanding and communication, and the complexity of global business operations. This article reviews the existing literature in order to identify the competencies that are needed by global managers and the training approaches that can successfully build those competencies. A template of 10 criteria that should be addressed by training programs for cross-border professionals is proposed and applied to a sample of business schools that currently offer executive programs. Although there are good examples of programs that meet one or more of the 10 criteria, most business schools will be required to expand and to innovate their programs in order to meet the projected demand for training.
A FIELD STUDY OF JOB KNOWLEDGE, JOB SATISFACTION, INTENTION TO TURNOVER, AND RATINGS OF SIMULATED PERFORMANCE

Employees' job knowledge affects both work-sample performance and performance ratings made by supervisors. In the present study of 78 military police officers, the influence of two measures of job knowledge, one for which the employees could ready themselves and the other which was given without advance notice, were examined for their relation with job satisfaction, intention to turnover, and simulated performance ratings. Both measures of job knowledge were significantly related to simulated performance ratings but not job satisfaction or intention to turnover.
A national conference to determine research priorities in pediatric solid organ transplantation.

: The need for evidence-based practice guidelines requires high quality, carefully controlled clinical research trials. This multidisciplinary conference attempted to: identify urgent clinical and research issues, identify obstacles to performing clinical trials, develop concepts for organ-specific and all-organ research and generate a report that would serve as a blueprint for future research initiatives. A few themes became evident. First, young children present a unique immunologic environment which may lead to tolerance, therefore, including young children in immunosuppression withdrawal and tolerance trials may increase the potential benefits of these studies. Second, adolescence poses significant barriers to successful transplantation. Non-adherence may be insufficient to explain poorer outcomes. More studies focused on identification and prevention of non-adherence, and the potential effects of puberty are required. Third, the relatively naive immune system of the child presents a unique opportunity to study primary infections and alloimmune responses. Finally, relatively small numbers of transplants performed in pediatric centers mandate multicenter collaboration. Investment in registries, tissue and DNA repositories will enhance productivity. The past decade has proven that outcomes after pediatric transplantation can be comparable to adults. The pediatric community now has the opportunity to design and complete studies that enhance outcomes for all transplant recipients.
Measurement of surface fatigue damage by exoelectron emission

Plastic deformation enhances the photoelectron emission from a metal-an effect known as exoelectron emission. Previous results demonstrated that fatigue cycling produces exoelectron emission from localized regions, and that by scanning the surface with a small spot of ultraviolet radiation these fatigued regions may be detected very early in life. This paper demonstrates that the intensity of the localized emission in steel is a true measure of the accumulated damage, and can be correlated with changes in the surface topography. The development of persistent slip bands produces microcracks in the surface oxide revealing bare metal from which the electrons are emitted. The growth of these bands and the formation and propagation of fatigue cracks increases the area of fresh metal surface and hence the emission. The increase in exoelectron emission is very systematic and hence provides a calibration for the prediction of the remaining fatigue life.
Current Collectors for Rechargeable Li-Air Batteries

Here we report the negative influence of porous nickel foam for use as current collectors in rechargeable Li-air batteries. Uncoated nickel foam promotes the decomposition of LiPF6-organic carbonate electrolytes under normal charging conditions reported for rechargeable Li-air cells. We have identified Ni free porous carbon supports as more appropriate cathode current collectors.
Rapid Methods and Automation in Microbiology:25 years of Scientific Developments and Global Market Trends

Rapid Methods and Automation in Microbiology is a dynamic area in microbiology dealing with the study of improved methods in the early detection, isolation, characterization and enumeration of microorganisms and their products in clinical, drugs, industrial, food, and environmental samples. Rapidly monitoring the presence, growth characteristics, and product developments of benefical and pathogenic microorganisms in the food supply are important in global movement of food products and commodaties. This presentation will focus on the developments of the field in the past 25 years on sample preparations using ingenious methods, rapid viable cell counts involving new technologies, miniaturized microbiology and effective diagnostic tests and kits, rapid, effective, and automated immunological tests, advanced instrumentations concerning physical, chemical, anad biochemical methods, genetic methods, Polymerase Chain Reactions, Ribotyping, biosensers, microarrays, etc. Global trends in the volume and kinds of tests being conducted for foods (meats, vegetables, dairy, processed foods), water, pharmcueticals, personal care products, etc. will be made. Market value of these tests internationally from 1998 to 2010 will be discussed. The presentation will conclude with a discussion on Fung’s 10 predictions into the future of the total picture of microbiological testings for food and consumer safety. IUFoST 2006 DOI: 10.1051/IUFoST:20060705
Zinc causes an apparent increase in rhodopsin phosphorylation.

Purpose. Rhodopsin is a zinc-binding protein. We investigated the effect of low concentrations of zinc on the initial phosphorylation of rhodopsin.Methods. Dark-adapted bovine rod outer segments (ROS) were incubated with (γ32P)ATP and 5 mM magnesium in the presence and absence of micromolar amounts of zinc. The ROS were exposed to light to initiate phosphorylation under conditions which allow only limited initial phosphorylation.Results. We found that zinc enhanced the rhodopsin phosphorylation apparent on autoradiographies by several fold. Phosphorylation reactions conducted in the presence of potent phospho-opsin phosphatase inhibitors show a comparable zinc-enhanced phosphorylation of rhodopsin. Under our reaction conditions, ROS membranes also appear more red upon initial exposure to light when zinc is present.Conclusions. Zinc can increase initial rhodopsin phosphorylation, apparently acting at the substrate rhodopsin and not at relevant phosphatases or rhodopsin kinase. How zinc binding to rhodopsin...
An Analysis of Black–White Wage Differences in Nursing: Wage Gap or Wage Premium?

This paper analyzes whether a black–white racial wage differential exists in the nursing labor market in the US. Despite claims of a nursing shortage, little examination of whether racial inequalities in the labor market might contribute to this purported shortage has occurred. Possible explanations for black–white differences in RN compensation include racial differences in: occupation; returns to skills; metropolitan residency; union membership. Regression analysis on wages for registered nurses (RNs) was conducted. Findings suggest a wage penalty for non-union black nurses compared to non-union white nurses as well as the absence of a racial wage differential for union nurses.
Impact of prior choice on local Bayes factors for cluster detection

In this paper, we evaluate the usefulness of local Bayes factors as a tool for spatial cluster detection. In particular, we consider whether local Bayes factors from models with a fixed, but overly large number of clusters can consistently identify the evidence for clustering for a variety of prior specifications for the cluster locations. We also investigate the robustness of the local Bayes factor to the number of clusters included in the model. We explore the impacts of prior choice for cluster location and the number of clusters on posterior inference for disease rates. We conduct the comparison by analysing data on 1990 breast cancer incidence in Wisconsin.
Experimental Studies of Nonisothermal Binary Fluids With Phase Change in Confined Geometries

Evaporative cooling, which exploits the large latent heats associated with phase change, is of interest in a variety of thermal management technologies. Yet our fundamental understanding of thermal and mass transport remains limited. Evaporation and condensation can change the local temperature, and hence surface tension, along a liquid-vapor interface. The resulting thermocapillary stresses are dominant at small length scales in many cases.For the vast majority of single-component coolants, surface tension decreases as temperature increases, resulting in thermocapillary stresses that drive the liquid away from hot regions, leading to dryout, for example. The direction of flow driven by thermocapillary stresses is therefore consistent with that driven by buoyancy effects due to changes in the liquid density with temperature.However, a number of binary “self-rewetting fluids,” consisting of water-alcohol mixtures, have surface tensions that increase with temperature, leading to thermocapillary stresses that drive liquid towards hot regions, improving cooling performance. Although not all binary coolants are self-rewetting, all such coolants are subject to solutocapillary stresses, where differential evaporation of the two fluid components leads to changes in local species concentration at the liquid-vapor interface, and hence in surface tension.Given the lack of general models of thermal and mass transport in nonisothermal two-phase flows, experimental studies of convection in simple fluids and binary alcohol-water mixtures due to evaporation and condensation driven by a horizontal temperature gradient were performed. In these initial studies, both the simple and binary fluids have thermocapillary stresses that drive liquid away from hot regions. However, the binary fluid also has solutocapillary stresses that drive liquid towards hot regions. Particle-image velocimetry (PIV) is used to nonintrusively measure the velocity and temperature fields in a layer of liquid a few mm in depth in a 1 cm × 1 cm × 4.85 cm sealed and evacuated cuvette heated on one end and cooled on the other end.© 2012 ASME
Fast object tracking using adaptive block matching

We propose a fast object tracking algorithm that predicts the object contour using motion vector information. The segmentation step common in region-based tracking methods is avoided, except for the initialization of the object. Tracking is achieved by predicting the object boundary using block motion vectors followed by updating the contour using occlusions/disocclusion detection. An adaptive block-based approach has been used for estimating motion between frames. An efficient modulation scheme is used to control the gap between frames used for motion estimation. The algorithm for detecting disocclusion proceeds in two steps. First, uncovered regions are estimated from the displaced frame difference. These uncovered regions are classified into actual disocclusions and false alarms by observing the motion characteristics of uncovered regions. Occlusion and disocclusion are considered as dual events and this relationship is explained in detail. The algorithm for detecting occlusion is developed by modifying the disocclusion detection algorithm in accordance with the duality principle. The overall tracking algorithm is computationally superior to existing region-based methods for object tracking. The immediate applications of the proposed tracking algorithm are video compression using MPEG-4 and content retrieval based on standards like H.264. Preliminary simulation results demonstrate the performance of the proposed algorithm.
Daily Stressors and Coping Responses: A Comparison of Rural and Suburban Children

Although research has examined problems of stress and health among rural families, little is known about coping phenomena directly from the perspective of rural children. This study compared two groups of children, one rural and the other suburban, in their reports of daily stressors and coping efforts as actually experienced. Using semistructured diaries over a period of six weeks, 21 rural children and 23 suburban children reported daily sources of stress, coping efforts, and coping resources. Rural children were more compliant in completing diaries. They reported more internal, cognitive-intrapsychic source of stress, whereas suburban children listed more external environmental sources. Suburban boys reported submission as the most common coping response, and rural boys listed organized activities and problem-solving approaches. Other interesting differences between the rural and suburban children, and gender differences among both groups emerged.
Small-angle X-ray scattering investigation of ionomer deformation : effect of neutralizing cation

Abstract The influence of the neutralizing cation on the response of model polyurethane ionomers to uniaxial extension is investigated by small-angle X-ray scattering. Anisotropic scattering patterns are observed for ionomers neutralized with Na+, Sr2+ and Ca2+ upon elongation, with the precise nature of the response depending on the neutralizing cation. Scattering patterns of elongated ionomers neutralized with Ni2+ and Cd2+ display little or no anisotropy up to extension ratios of λ = 5.0 and 3.0, respectively. A model invoking ionic aggregate spatial rearrangement within the polymer matrix and removal of ionic groups from the aggregates to the polymer matrix or to other aggregates is postulated to explain the results.
The V Protein of Human Parainfluenza Virus 2 Antagonizes Type I Interferon Responses by Destabilizing Signal Transducer and Activator of Transcription 2

Type I interferon (IFN) induces antiviral responses through the activation of the ISGF3 transcription factor complex that contains the subunit proteins STAT1, STAT2, and p48/ISGF3 gamma/IRF9. The ability of some human paramyxoviruses to overcome IFN actions by specific proteolysis of STAT proteins has been examined. Infection of cells with type 2, but not type 1 or type 3 human parainfluenza virus (HPIV) leads to a loss of cellular STAT2 protein. Expression of a single HPIV2 protein derived from the V open reading frame blocks IFN-dependent transcriptional responses in the absence of other viral proteins. The loss of IFN response is due to V-protein-induced proteolytic degradation of STAT2. Expression of HPIV2 V causes the normally stable STAT2 protein to be rapidly degraded, and this proteolytic activity can be partially alleviated by proteasome inhibition. No V-protein-specific effects on STAT2 mRNA levels were observed. The results indicate that the V protein of HPIV2 is sufficient to recognize and target a specific cellular transcription factor for destruction by cellular machinery.
Posterior mediastinal accessory thymus.

T w o C H I L D R E N , each wi th pos te r io r m e d i a s t i n a l mass , u n d e r w e n t a t h o r a c o t o m y for suspec ted n e o p l a s m . Acces sory thymic tissue, separa te f r o m a n o r m a l b i l o b e d thymus in the usual posi t ion, was f o u n d in each chi ld . Ectopic t hymic t issue shou ld be inc luded in the d i f fe rential d iagnosis o f a pos te r io r med ia s t i na l m a s s in a child.
Part orientations for CMM inspection using dimensioned visibility maps

Abstract This paper presents a methodology for determining a set of part orientations on a coordinate measuring machine (CMM), given part descriptions and tolerance information. A part frequently needs more than one orientation for inspection, and therefore it is important to determine a set of part orientations such that all tolerances under consideration can be inspected. The methodology utilizes the visibility map (VMap) to represent accessible directions from which measurements for inspecting a tolerance can be performed. The concept of VMap dimensionality is proposed to provide the basis for clustering VMaps as well as to facilitate the clustering procedure. The presented heuristic groups dimensioned VMaps into a set of disjoint VMap clusters, providing a reasonably small number of part orientations. The algorithms are implemented in C++ and tested on a SGI workstation.
The wild ride of the ruble

The ruble exchange rate has undergone wide gyrations over the last few years, culminating in a period of rapid appreciation in early 1995. We examine this period, distinguishing between two alternative views, an overshooting view with backward looking expectations, and a portfolio model based on demand for ruble assets. We show that sturdy lag structures between inflation and monetary growth imply that the two models are observationally equivalent in the short run. Using indirect information from other asset markets, however, allows us to differentiate between the two explanations. We find fairly sturdy evidence that expectations regarding future inflation shifted downward in early 1995, suggesting that the subsequent increase in monetary growth to a significant extent satisfied increased real ruble demand, with limited inflation impact. Copyright @ 1996 by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. All rights reserved.
Application of a Second-Order Derivtive Spectroscopic Technique: Determination of the Ionization Constants of Phenytoin and Phenobarbital

AbstractAbsorption spectroscopy can be used to determine the pK of a compound when a change in the spectral pattern can be related to a change in the protonation state of an ionizable group. The calculation of a pK becomes difficult (standard error increases) when these spectral changes are indistinct or are minimally resolved. In these cases, the ability of higher-order derivative spectroscopy to enhance the short-range fine structure of a spectra usually offers adequate spectral resolution for quantitative pK determinations.
Personal development: Career hurdles and how to clear them: Will an advanced degree and adherence to the work ethic suffice in moving ahead?

Faced with the myriad suggestions offered them on career development, engineers might well question the effectiveness of the various alternatives. Suggested courses of action have run the gamut from earning a higher degree and obtaining better job assignments to improving one's social skills and developing a ?bail-out? option. But with the current scarcity of hard data on how such courses of action affect long-term career development, how can one confidently pursue any approach?
Simplicial Label Correcting Algorithms for continuous stochastic shortest path problems

The problem of optimal feedback planning under prediction uncertainties among static obstacles is considered. A discrete-time stochastic state transition model is defined over a continuous state space. A relation to a continuous “nearby” deterministic model is proven for small time steps; the cost-to-go function of the stochastic model is approximated with that of the deterministic model, and the approximation error is found to be proportional to the time step. This motivates using numerical methods, which are vastly available for solving deterministic problems, to approximate the original stochastic problem. We demonstrate this application using a Simplicial Label Correcting Algorithm. This algorithms uses a piecewise linear discretization to compute the shortest-path plan on a simplicial complex. Additionally, the theoretical error bound between the approximate solution and the exact solution is derived and confirmed during numerical experiments. This paper provides a rigorous analysis as well as algorithmic and implementation details of the proposed model for the stochastic shortest path problem in continuous spaces with obstacles.
Modulation of cyclic CMP-specific phosphodiesterase activity by polyamines and by cyclic purine nucleotides

Abstract The activity of a cyclic CMP-specific phosphodiesterase obtained from leukemia L-1210 cells is shown to be inhibited by polyamines and by cyclic purine nucleotides. By combining certain members of the two classes of metabolites, amplification of the inhibition is achieved. Since cyclic CMP is suggested to be a positive effector of cell proliferation, the inhibition of the phosphodiesterase by metabolites which are known to vary in concentration | during cell cycle progression may constitute one mechanism by which cell growth is regulated.
Comparison of the effects of quercetin with those of other flavonoids on the generation and effector function of cytotoxic T lymphocytes.

Abstract In previous studies (Schwartz et al., 1982) we showed that the naturally occurring plant flavonoid quercetin can inhibit both the in vitro generation and effector function of alloantigen specific xytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTL). In the present studies, several additional flavonoids of different chemical classes were tested similarly to determine whether structure-function relationships exist. We have found that some other flavonoids, e.g. apigenin, fisetin, hesperetin and chalcone also can inhibit both CTL generation and effector function, with the effective concentration varying with the specific flavonoid tested. On the other hand, flavonoids such as rutin, naringin and catechin were inactive in both systems. Taxifolin (dihydroquercetin) differed from all the other flavonoids in that it was a relatively active inhibitor of CTL generation, but was essentially unable to inhibit CTL effector function. The presence of a double bond at position C-2-3 in the flavone and flavonol aglycones, a keto group at C-4, B ring hydroxylation and /or a free hydroxyl group at C-3 may be associated with activity. We also show that the effects of some, but not all, of the flavonoids active in our systems can be blocked by Cu2+ ions. Therefore, chelation of divalent cations such as Cu2+ cannot explain the function of all flavonoids in these systems.
Uniform Room Frames with Five Holes

In 1981, Dinitz and Stinson [2] proved that the necessary conditions were sufficient for the existence of a Room frame of type t” for all u 2 6. Very recently, Zhu Lie and Ge Gennian [5] constructed all t5 Room frames except for four missing orders. In this article we construct t5 Room frames for t = 11,13,17, and 19; this completes the proof that the necessary conditions are sufficient for the existence of a Room frame of type t5. 0 1993 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Incident-photon energy-distribution effects on radiationless resonant Raman scattering.

In the experimental observation of radiationless resonant Raman scattering, features that differ from the idealized case can arise when the spectral width of the incident photon distribution is comparable to the width of pertinent atomic energy levels. These features include nonlinear dispersion of the peak maxima and changes in the symmetry and width of the ejected-electron lines with changes in the average incident photon energy. Under certain conditions, the electron line shapes can become highly asymmetric or even double peaked. The origin of these features in actual experiments is explored through a model calculation for large spectral widths. Some possible applications of these effects are pointed out.