cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Optimizing the txt2MEDLINE search portal for low-resource clinical decision support.

txt2MEDLINE provides access to high-quality medical evidence via text-messaging in settings with inadequate Internet access. We optimized the txt2MEDLINE search technique by parsing queries for MeSH (Medical Subject Heading) terms and searching MEDLINE for articles containing these terms in their titles or abstracts. We compared our results to the existing txt2MEDLINE tool by compiling benchmark queries from low-income and low-middle-income countries, and asking doctors and nurses with practice experience in low-resource areas to evaluate them. The median scores on a 5-point Likert scale were 2.9 for the existing txt2MEDLINE vs. 3.8 for the modified version (p=0.015). This reached our predefined criterion for clinical significance, a difference of 0.5 standard deviations. Improving this technology could improve clinical information resources in the world’s most medically underserved communities.
The fibres of a morphism

Let f: X → Y be a morphism of varieties. The purpose of this section is to study the family of closed subsets of X consisting of the sets f−1(y), y ∈ Y.
Argentina's Contingent Protection Use after the Financial Crisis: There and Back Again?

Argentina, once a prominent example of the ‘Washington consensus,’ took dramatic steps to reduce its integration in the world economy in the aftermath of the peso crisis in 2001. This pattern might suggest that the Argentine government would turn aggressively to contingent protection measures such as antidumping and safeguards in the wake of the 2008 global financial crisis. The data suggest that the share of imports subject to ongoing Argentine contingent protection measures (especially antidumping) has increased from about 1.2% of total imports in 2006 to about 2.7% in 2009. If one considers the impact of suppressed imports, this rises to an estimated 5% in 2009. Argentine antidumping use has retained its focus on developing countries. However, while in earlier periods Brazil was the most frequent target, almost all of the recent antidumping activity has been focused very narrowly on China, a pattern that predates the 2008 crisis. While Argentina has certainly become more aggressive in its use of antidumping since the 1990s, there is little to suggest that it has done so specifically in the wake of the crisis. Instead, Argentine import restrictions are increasingly focused on China alone.
Myocardial nitric oxide in cardiac remodeling

Evidence has emerged that nitric oxide (NO) plays a role in the pathogenesis of myocardial failure. The effects of NO in heart failure, as in other clinical situations, may be either beneficial or deleterious. It has been hypothesized that NO at relatively low levels appears to modulate the response of the myocardium to potentially deleterious stimuli, and thus in some situations may offset the progression of myocardial failure. On the other hand, at higher levels NO has the ability to impair normal myocardial function and to exert direct toxic effects in the myocardium, as it can in other tissues. The effects of higher levels of NO may be relevant to a variety of situations in which myocardial NO is increased. These include conditions in which there is a clear inflammatory reaction such as sepsis, myocarditis, transplant rejection or acute infarction. There is also evidence that NO production is increased above physiologic levels in the myocardium of patients with chronic heart failure. These observations have led to the concern that with increasing levels, NO may contribute to the pathogenesis of myocardial failure, and thus change from a friend to a foe.
FBXO38 Drives PD-1 to Destruction.

Aberrant expression of T cell-resident programmed cell death protein-1 (PD-1) is known to promote tumor progression. A recent study (Nature 2018;564:130–135) has now identified the E3 ubiquitin ligase FBXO38 as a crucial regulator of PD-1 protein turnover in T cells, providing a novel mechanism for potential use in cancer immunotherapy.
Agarose Slurry as a Support Medium for Bioprinting and Culturing Freestanding Cell-Laden Hydrogel Constructs

Abstract We present a modified method of embedded bioprinting, which allows maintaining freestanding three-dimensional (3D) printed structures in cell culture conditions for extended periods of tim...
Preoperative Anxiety Effect on Patient-Reported Outcomes Following Foot and Ankle Surgery.

Background:Preoperative emotional distress has been shown to negatively influence joint arthroplasty and spine surgery, but limited data exist for foot and ankle outcomes. Emotional distress can be...
Mercury Accumulation in Millipedes (Narceus spp.) Living Adjacent to a Southern Appalachian Mountain Stream (USA)

Millipedes are among the most important processors of leaf litter in temperate forests. Through consumption of leaf litter, millipedes may be exposed to mercury that accumulates in leaf tissues prior to senescence. To investigate mercury uptake in millipedes, Narceus spp. were collected from a remote site in the southern Appalachian Mountains, an area known to receive high mercury deposition. Additionally, aquatic primary consumers (larval caddisflies and stoneflies), brook trout (Salvelinus fontinalis) and rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) were collected from the same site for comparisons of mercury concentrations and percent methylmercury. Bioaccumulation factors for millipedes were 18.5 and 20.2 for total and methylmercury, respectively. At this site, the mean THg concentration in millipedes was ~ 10 × greater than both brook trout and rainbow trout and ~ 200 × greater than that of aquatic primary consumers. Millipede THg concentrations ranged from 222 to 1620 ng/g ww in an area where EPA fish consumption criteria (300 ng/g MeHg in fish tissue, ww) were not exceeded. The mean percent methylmercury in millipedes was 1.4%, suggesting these animals were accumulating large quantities of inorganic mercury.
Biomarkers of Exposure for Dual Use of Electronic Cigarettes and Combustible Cigarettes: Nicotelline, NNAL, and Total Nicotine Equivalents.

Author(s): Jacob, Peyton; St Helen, Gideon; Yu, Lisa; Nardone, Natalie; Havel, Christopher; Cheung, Polly; Benowitz, Neal L | Abstract: IntroductionDual use of electronic cigarettes (e-cigarettes) and combustible cigarettes is a major public health issue. It is generally accepted that exclusive e-cigarette use is less harmful than exclusive combustible cigarette use, but most e-cigarette users continue to smoke combustible cigarettes as well. To what extent the use of e-cigarettes reduces harm in people who continue to smoke combustible cigarettes has been debated. The aim of this study was to explore the utility of biomarkers as measures of dual use.MethodsIn two human studies of participants who used e-cigarettes only or both combustible cigarettes and e-cigarettes, we measured urine concentrations of the metabolites of nicotine (total nicotine equivalents) as well as two biomarkers of tobacco exposure: 4-(methylnitrosamino)-1-(3-pyridyl)-1-butanol (NNAL), a tobacco-specific carcinogen metabolite, and nicotelline, a tobacco alkaloid not found in significant concentrations in e-cigarette products.ResultsThe presence of nicotine metabolites indicates either e-cigarette or combustible cigarette use. Nicotelline (half-life of 2-3 hours) indicates recent combustible cigarette use and NNAL (half-life of 10 days or more), indicates combustible cigarette use occurring within several weeks prior to sample collection.ConclusionsNicotelline and NNAL are useful biomarkers for combustible tobacco use in users e-cigarettes. The application of these biomarkers provides a tool to help assess whether, or to what extent, dual use of e-cigarettes and combustible cigarettes reduces harm compared to sole use of combustible cigarettes. These biomarkers can also verify exclusive use of e-cigarettes over short (24 hour) or long (several week) time periods.ImplicationsTo what extent dual use of e-cigarettes and combustible cigarettes reduce harm compared to smoking combustible cigarettes only is of considerable public health interest. We show that the levels of the minor tobacco alkaloid nicotelline and the nitrosamine 4-(methylnitrosamino)-1-(3-pyridyl)-1-butanone (NNK) are extremely low in electronic cigarette fluids. The urine biomarkers nicotelline and the NNK metabolite 4-(methylnitrosamino)-1-(3-pyridyl)-1-butanol (NNAL) are indicative of cigarette smoking and can be used to assess recent and past smoking in dual users.
Demo Abstract: The Intelligent IoT Integrator Data Marketplace - Version 1

The widespread adoption of IoT in the context of smart cities, along with the emergence of data-driven applications, increases the interest in data marketplaces. Multiple research articles argued the importance of data marketplaces to create scalable IoT applications. Still, there are no open-source data marketplace implementations to help researchers and practitioners to experiment with and develop novel protocols and frameworks for IoT data marketplaces. In this demo, we introduce Intelligence IoT Integrator (I3) - Version 1, which is an IoT data marketplace developed for smart cities at the University of Southern California. In particular, this demo focuses on user management, product creation, product purchasing, user authentication, and access control.
Pathogenesis of human infected H7N9 subtype virus:a brief review

The outbreak of avian influenza A virus subtype H7N9 in humans in China has aroused our attention to low pathogenic avian influenza(LPAI) viruses recently.Although the transmission of avian influenza from birds to humans has proved to be sporadic,the mortality of infected humans is very high.No specific vaccine has been produced to prevent avian influenza which means that we still have a long way to cure and/or eliminate the disease.We review the pathogenicity of H7 and H7N9 subtype viruses,the mechanisms of how H7N9 subtype virus infect humans and its molecular pathogenesis of transformation from low pathogenic avian influenza viruses to highly pathogenic avian influenza viruses,in order to understand the pathogenesis of H7N9 avian influenza viruses. Key words: H7N9 ; Avian influenza; Pathogenesis
Arthropod Community Associated With the Asexual Generation of Bassettia pallida (Hymenoptera: Cynipidae)

Cynipid gall wasps play an important role in structuring oak arthropod communities. Wasps in the Cynipini tribe typically lay their eggs in oaks (Quercus L.), and induce the formation of a ‘gall’, which is a tumor-like growth of plant material that surrounds the developing wasp. As the wasp develops, the cynipid and its gall are attacked by a diverse community of natural enemies, including parasitoids, hyperparasitoids, and inquilines. Determining what structures these species-rich natural enemy communities across cynipid gall wasp species is a major question in gall wasp biology. Additionally, gall wasps are ecosystem engineers, as the abandoned gall is used by other invertebrates.The gall-associated insect communities residing on live oaks (Quercus geminata Small and Quercus virginiana Mill.) are emerging as a model system for answering ecological and evolutionary questions ranging from community ecology to the evolution of new species. Documenting the arthropods associated with cynipids in this system will expand our understanding of the mechanisms influencing eco-evolutionary processes, record underexplored axes of biodiversity, and facilitate future work. Here, we present the community of natural enemies and other associates of the asexual generation of the crypt gall wasp, Bassettia pallida Ashmead. We compare the composition of this community to communities recently documented from two other cynipid gall wasps specializing on live oaks along the U.S. Gulf coast, Disholcaspis quercusvirens Ashmead and Belonocnema treatae Mayr. B. pallida and their galls support a diverse arthropod community, including over 25 parasitoids, inquilines, and other associated arthropods spanning 5 orders and 16 families.
Channel Measurements and Path loss Modeling for Indoor THz Communication

To explore the eventual deployment of communication systems in Terahertz (THz) band (0.1-10 THz) frequencies, extensive channel measurement campaigns are essential. In this regard, we conducted an indoor line-of-sight (LoS) measurement campaign up to 5.5 m on a THz channel sounding system that covers 140-220GHz. We use a frequency-domain channel sounder that is based on a vector network analyzer (VNA) and frequency extenders for these measurements. Using the log-distance path loss model, we estimate the values of path loss exponent and the fading distribution standard deviations. The power delay profile analysis of our measurements shows that there are negligible multipaths in the LoS channels for the current scenario. Our results provide a platform for future exploration of THz band communication in the 140-220 GHz frequency range.
88. QUALITATIVE ASSESSMENT OF A NOVEL EQUITY, DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION (EDI) CURRICULUM FOR PEDIATRIC RESIDENTS

Background In 2018, the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education(ACGME)updated its Common Program Requirements to include training in caring for diverse populations and understanding social determinants of health. In our large pediatric residency program, we implemented a formal equity, diversity and inclusion (EDI) curriculum in 2018 after a needs assessment. The curriculum includes monthly didactic sessions and two half- day skill-building sessions on EDI fundamentals and responding to microaggressions. Objective: To describe how curriculum implementation changed residents self-perceived knowledge, attitudes and behaviors when delivering patient care to diverse patient populations. Methods Two focus groups (n=13) were conducted by trained facilitators with senior pediatric residents using a structured question guide. Written notes and audio transcripts were recorded. Four project members coded the notes and transcripts using a codebook. Discrepancies were resolved by consensus. The full project team reviewed and discussed common themes. Results Of the 13 residents, 61% (8/13) were R2s. 31% (4/13) were residents of color and 77% (10/13) were female. Four major themes were identified (Table 1. First, residents described a sense of importance and empowerment to engage in EDI issues after the curriculum. Second, residents reported gaining specific skills to recognize and address microaggressions. Third, residents described attitude and behavior shifts from increased awareness of biases in patient care. The fourth theme was a limitation in providing equitable care due to availability and appropriate use of interpreters. Conclusions Pediatric residents reported increased awareness and improved skills when providing care to diverse populations after implementation of an EDI curriculum. Residents described how this curriculum provided language to properly recognize and address witnessed inequities. Next steps in curricular efforts include a follow-up quantitative survey of all residents, focus groups with interns and direct observation of resident behaviors to assess impact.
Franchisor Power as Employment Control

Labor and employment laws are systematically under-enforced in low-wage, franchised workplaces. Union contracts, and the benefits and protections they provide, are non-existent. The Fight for Fifteen movement has brought attention to the low wages, systemic violations of workers’ rights, and lack of collective representation in fast-food franchises. Given that franchisees are often judgment proof and cannot set industry standards, the deterrence, remedial, and collective bargaining goals of labor and employment laws can depend on holding the franchisor (the brand) responsible under the joint employer doctrine. In a series of cases, however, a dominant approach has emerged of essentially foreclosing the possibility that franchisors and their subordinate companies (franchisees) are joint employers. Recent political developments mirror this foreclosure and pose a historic narrowing of the scope of joint employer liability. This Article challenges courts, administrative agencies, and legislators to take more seriously franchisors’ power over their franchisees and the working conditions of low-wage fast-food workers than they have to date. To advance this argument, we rely on insights from an original empirical data set of (a) 44 contracts between fast-food franchisors and franchisees in 2016 and (b) comprehensive documentation provided in joint employer legal proceedings against two major fast-food franchisors in the U.S.: McDonald’s and Domino’s Pizza. Our proposed “power as employment control” construct considers the cumulative effect of lead franchisor firms’ reserved (unexercised) and exercised influence over the working conditions in their subordinate businesses within the confines of existing doctrines. Taking power more seriously in legal analyses of who is an employer would help courts, administrative agencies, and policymakers to bring more justice and consistency to this hotly contested area.
Expanding Understanding of Racial-Ethnic Differences in ADHD Prevalence Rates among Children to Include Asians and Alaskan Natives/American Indians.

BackgroundPrior studies show that ADHD prevalence rates vary by race-ethnicity, but these studies do not include a full range of racial-ethnic minority groups.ObjectiveThis study aimed to understan...
Read-and-Run Constrained Coding for Modern Flash Devices

The pivotal storage density win achieved by solid-state devices over magnetic devices in 2015 is a result of multiple innovations in physics, architecture, and signal processing. One of the most important innovations in that regard is enabling the storage of more than one bit per cell in the Flash device, i.e., having more than two charge levels per cell. Constrained coding is used in Flash devices to increase reliability via mitigating inter-cell interference that stems from charge propagation among cells. Recently, capacity-achieving constrained codes were introduced to serve that purpose in modern Flash devices, which have more than two levels per cell. While these codes result in minimal redundancy via exploiting the underlying physics, they result in non-negligible complexity increase and access speed limitation since pages cannot be read separately. In this paper, we suggest new constrained coding schemes that have low-complexity and preserve the desirable high access speed in modern Flash devices. The idea is to eliminate error-prone patterns by coding data only on the left-most page while leaving data on all the remaining pages uncoded. Our coding schemes work for any number of levels per cell, offer systematic encoding and decoding, and are capacity-approaching. Since the proposed schemes enable the separation of pages, we refer to them as read-and-run (RR) constrained coding schemes as opposed to schemes adopting read-and-wait for other pages. We analyze the new RR coding schemes and discuss their impact on the probability of occurrence of different charge levels. We also demonstrate the performance improvement achieved via RR coding on a practical triple-level cell Flash device.
False Sepsis and Advanced TCC

I have seen two circumstances in my lifetime where a patient with transitional cell cancer (usually well advanced) has presented with significant leukocytosis and fever. The very presence of these two findings would keep your medical consultants from allowing you to intervene surgically in such cases for fear of engendering urosepsis. However, after seeing that both blood and urine cultures are negative, and instituting a raft of antibiotic support, there comes a time when one should respect the fact that leukocytosis and febrile reactions are common in advanced TCC.
Rapamycin increases fetal hemoglobin and ameliorates the nociception phenotype in sickle cell mice

Fetal hemoglobin-inducing therapies are disease-modifying and ameliorate the pain phenotype in sickle cell disease (SCD). Rapamycin, a mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) inhibitor, increases HbF in erythroid precursor cells in vitro. We hypothesized that rapamycin would increase HbF levels and improve nociception phenotype in SCD mice. We used sine-wave electrical stimulation to examine nocifensive phenotype and evaluate myelinated [2000Hz (Aβ-fiber) and 250Hz (Aδ-fiber)] and unmyelinated (5Hz C-fibers)] sensory fiber function. Rapamycin significantly increased γ-globin mRNA and HbF levels [+2.3% (0.7, 3.9), mean increase (95% confidence interval, CI), p=0.006]. In homozygous (sickling) mice, long- (16 weeks), but not short-term (6 weeks), rapamycin treatment increased 2000Hz and 250Hz current thresholds in a pattern that varied according to sex. In male, but not female mice, rapamycin (compared with vehicle) was associated with increases in 2000Hz [21Units (7, 35), mean difference (95% CI), p=0.009 for sex∗treatment interaction] and 250Hz [9Units (1, 16), p=0.01] current thresholds. In rapamycin-treated homozygotes, HbF levels directly correlated with myelinated [2000Hz(Aβ-fiber, r=0.58, p=0.01) and 250Hz(Aδ-fiber, r=0.6, p=0.01)] but not unmyelinated sensory fiber current thresholds. These findings suggest that in SCD mice, rapamycin increases HbF and modulates current thresholds of myelinated fibers. Therefore, mTOR signaling might be implicated in the pathobiology of SCD.
Fractionating ambient humic-like substances (HULIS) for their reactive oxygen species activity – Assessing the importance of quinones and atmospheric aging

Abstract In this paper, we present a technique to identify the redox-active components of fine organic aerosols by fractionating humic-like substances (HULIS). We applied this technique to a dithiothreitol (DTT) assay – a measure of the capability of PM to generate reactive oxygen species (ROS), and assessed the contribution of quinones to the DTT activity of ambient water-soluble PM. Filter samples from the Southeastern Center for Air Pollution & Epidemiology (SCAPE) were extracted in water and then passed-through a C-18 column to isolate the HULIS fraction by retention on the column. The HULIS was then eluted with a sequence of solvents of increasing polarity, i.e., hexane, dichloromethane (DCM) and then methanol. Each of these eluted fractions was analyzed for DTT activity. The methanol fraction was found to possess most of the DTT activity (>70%), while the hexane fraction had the least activity ( 2.5 HULIS are mostly polar in nature. A number of quinones thought to contribute to ambient PM DTT activity were also tested. 1,4 Naphthoquinone (1,4 NQ), 1,2 Naphthoquinone (1,2 NQ), 9,10 Phenanthrenequinone (PQ), and 5-hydroxy-1,4 NQ were analyzed by the same protocol. The hexane fraction of two quinones (PQ, and 1,4 NQ) was the most-DTT active, while methanol was the least, confirming that PQ, 1,4 NQ, and 1,2 NQ (which could not be recovered from the column) do not contribute significantly to the water-soluble DTT activity of ambient PM 2.5 . However, an oxygenated derivative of 1,4 NQ, (5-hydroxy-1,4 NQ), which is also intrinsically more DTT-active than 1,4 NQ, was mostly (>60%) eluted in methanol. The results demonstrate the importance of atmospheric aging (oxidation) of organic aerosols in enhancing the ROS activity of ambient PM.
A Survey of Employment Sanctions Imposed Upon Ex-Offenders By California Law

One of the most important aspects of an ex-offender's re-integration into society is his or her ability to find and keep employment. However, because of his or her status as an ex-offender, the ex-offender may find both informal and informal barriers to employment. The informal barriers may include such things as the unwillingness of employers to hire the ex-offender based upon the stigma of a criminal conviction. Formal barriers go beyond social attitudes to include legal impediments to employment as a result of the status of ex-offender. This paper is an attempt to catalog the formal barriers to employment that exist in the form of employment sanctions imposed upon the ex- offender as a matter of California law. For the most part, this paper is not concerned with whether an individual sanction is just and necessary for the protection of the community, or if it is unjust and unduly burdensome upon the ex-offender, or if it is something in between. The main purpose is to simply see what employment sanctions currently exist, to provide a road-map of the barriers that are out there for an ex-offender. The core of the paper is the compilation of these sanctions into a table. As a precursor to this table, the methodology is described, along with a summary of the findings that briefly incorporates questions of policy raised by these findings and suggestions for further research.
Information Versus Product Adaptation: The Role of Standards in Trade

This paper examines the commonly held view that country-specific product and process standards are barriers to trade and that harmonizing standards promotes international trade. The econometric analysis generally confirms that bilaterally shared standards are favorable to trade. However, it does not find that the number of country-specific standards of importers is a barrier to trade on average. While country-specific standards of importers reduce imports for non-manufactured goods (e.g., agriculture), they do promote trade in the manufacturing sector. Information costs appear to be an explanation for this puzzle: if goods have to be adapted to a foreign market, then country-specific standards of the importing country offer valuable information for adapting the product to that market. Otherwise, this information would be costly to gather.
Erythema multiforme in children. Response to treatment with systemic corticosteroids.

SUMMARY It is generally accepted that the correct treatment for patients with severe erythema multiforme is systemic corticosteroids. This paper is a review of thirty-two paediatric patients with severe erythema multiforme (Stevens-Johnson syndrome) who were treated with either large doses of systemic corticosteroids or supportive care only. Those patients treated with steroids did not recover sooner than those treated in other fashions and the steroid treated group had a significant incidence of medical complications. This retrospective study proves nothing but it does suggest that treatment of patients with the Stevens-Johnson syndrome with systemic corticosteroids may be associated with significant side effects and prolonged recovery.
Micro-Complement Fixation in Klebsiella Classification

The alkaline phosphatases of 29 strains of bacteria assigned by various authors to the genera Aerobacter, Klebsiella and Enterobacter were compared by the micro-complement fixation technique. On the basis of phosphatase resemblance, we recommend that all strains hitherto assigned to Aerobacter aerogenes and Enterobacter aerogenes be assigned to the genus Klebsiella.
Diffuse Microwave Emission Survey

The Diffuse Microwave Emission Survey (DIMES) has been selected for a mission concept study for NASA's New Mission Concepts for Astrophysics program. DIMES will measure the frequency spectrum of the cosmic microwave background and diffuse Galactic foregrounds at centimeter wavelengths to 0.1% precision (0.1 mK), and will map the angular distribution to 20 muK per 6 degree field of view. It consists of a set of narrow-band cryogenic radiometers, each of which compares the signal from the sky to a full-aperture blackbody calibration target. All frequency channels compare the sky to the same blackbody target, with common offset and calibration, so that deviations from a blackbody spectral shape may be determined with maximum precision. Measurements of the CMB spectrum complement CMB anisotropy experiments and provide information on the early universe unobtainable in any other way; even a null detection will place important constraints on the matter content, structure, and evolution of the universe. Centimeter-wavelength measurements of the diffuse Galactic emission fill in a crucial wavelength range and test models of the heat sources, energy balance, and composition of the interstellar medium.
Rapid multi-scale transient thermal modeling of packaged microprocessors using hybrid approach

This paper studies the rapid transient thermal analysis of a packaged high power microprocessor, forced convection cooled using a heat sink. A spatially resolved power map for Intel Core 2 Duo Penryn processor was considered. Two different transient power profiles were investigated: an impulsively applied power map, and an oscillatory variation power map. We extended and demonstrated the capability of a recently developed hybrid approach in modeling several decades of length scale from package to chip at a considerably lower computational cost, while maintaining satisfactory accuracy. The proper orthogonal decomposition (POD) technique was used for the rapid prediction of the transient thermal response for impulsive vs. oscillatory power applied to the chip. The results were compared with a detailed finite element (FE) model developed in COMSOL®. The close agreement between the two models confirms the capability of the multi-scale model in rapidly predicting accurate temperature profiles, without performing detailed FE simulations, which can significantly decrease the computational cost in parametric modeling.
‘Slow’ K+-stimulated Ca2+ influx is mediated by Na+Ca2+ exchange: a pharmacological study

Abstract K + -stimulated 45 Ca 2+ influx was measured in rat brain presynaptic nerve terminals that were predepolarized in a K + -rich solution for 15 s prior to addition of 45 Ca 2+ . This ‘slow’ Ca 2+ influx stimulated by Na + removal, presumably mediated by Na + Ca 2+ exchange. The K + -stimulated Ca 2+ influx in predepolarized synaptosomes, and the Na + -removal-dependent Ca 2+ influx were both saturating functions of the external Ca 2+ concentration; and both were half-saturated at 0.3 mM Ca 2+ . Both were reduced about 50% by 20 μM Hg 2+ , 20 μM Cu 2+ or 0.45 mM Mn 2+ . Neither the K + -stimulated nor the Na + -removal-dependent Ca 2+ influx was inhibited by 1 μM Cd 2+ , La 3+ or Pb 2+ , treatments that almost completely inhibited K + -stimulated Ca 2+ influx in synaptosomes that were not predepolarized. The relative permeabilities of K + -stimulated Ca 2+ , Sr 2+ or Ba 2+ influx in predepolarized synaptosomes (10:3:1) and the corresponding selectivity ratio for Na + -removal-dependent divalent cation uptake (10:2:1) were similar. These results strongly suggest that the K + -stimulated ‘slow’ Ca 2+ influx in predepolarized synaptosomes and the Na + -removal-dependent Ca 2+ influx are mediated by a common mechanism, the Na + Ca 2+ exchanger.
An improved cutting plan for removing laser amplifier slabs from Yb:S-FAP single crystals using residual stress measurement and finite element modeling

Abstract This paper presents a measurement of the bulk residual stress distribution in a large single crystal boule and examines the residual stress redistribution during sectioning required to produce laser amplifier slabs. Experiments are currently under way to develop high-efficiency, diode-pumped laser systems that use Sr 5 (PO 4 ) 3 F crystals doped with Yb 3+ ions (called Yb:S-FAP) as the amplifying medium. The progress has been protracted since the cylindrical crystal boules have experienced an extremely high rate of fracture when they are cut to form rectangular amplifier slabs. It was hypothesized that fracture was caused by residual stresses acting in the presence of small chip-like defects generated by the cutting process. Attempts were made to measure the residual stress using X-ray diffraction, neutron diffraction, ultrasound, photo-elasticity, and the slitting method (also called crack compliance). The latter method turned out to be the most effective technique and it is presented here in detail. The measured residual stress field in the crystal boule closely resembled the result expected from a thermal process, with a maximum tensile stress of 50 MPa at the center of the crystal. Additionally, the experimental residual stresses were applied to a finite element model of the boule and various cutting plans were simulated to try and minimize the stresses acting along the edges of the cut. It was determined that a cut from only one side of the crystal boule and slightly off the central axis significantly reduced the stresses from the original cutting plan which used a two-sided cut through the center of the crystal. The modeling results showed that the maximum principal stress at the cut tip was reduced by 40% with the one-sided, off-center cutting plan, which would significantly reduce propensity for fracture during cutting.
4. Syncope Evaluation & Syncope Unit4.7 Syncope: Are Length of Stay and Tests Determined by Physician Bias?

Background and Objective This study was performed to examine diagnostic tests and length of stay of syncope patients according to specialty of admitting physicians. Methods A retrospective analysis of 301 consecutive patients admitted with syncope. Tests ordered and lengths of stay were analyzed between patients admitted to Internal Medicine vs. Cardiology. Results 171 males, 130 females, mean 70 years, admitted over 12 months. Pts. were admitted to IM (54%) and C (46%). Head CT (86 IM vs.32 C, p=.001), carotid Doppler exam (56 IM vs.19 C p=.001), echocardiogram (94 IMvs.52 C, p=.025), EEG (38 IM vs.14 C, p=.01), stress tests (41 IM vs. 21 C, p=.05). C pts. had more catheterizations (53 vs. 18, p=.001) and electrophysiology studies (68 vs. 19, p=.001). The mean length of stay: C=3.5 days, IM= 4.9 days, p=.0016 and IM with a C consultation, (5.9 days) p=.0010. Conclusion There is significant variability of tests ordered for patients with syncope. C pts. underwent more invasive testing, and less non-indicated tests. Length of stay was shorter for C than IM. Patient outcome studies are also needed.
The Effect of Cystine on the Endogenous Metabolism of Molting Hens

Abstract Osborne and Mende1, Johns and Finks2, Sure3, Jones and Murphy4, and others, have studied the need of the animal organism for cystine. As a result of their work cystine is generally recognized as being one of the essential amino acids. Jones, Gersdorff and Moeller5 tabulated the cystine content of various proteins. Lewis6–7 has shown “that the addition of cystine in small amounts to the food of dogs maintained on a low protein level diminished the loss of nitrogen from the body and favorably influenced the nitrogen balance.” He considered the effect of cystine to be specific. The writers8 found a marked increase in the endogenous loss of nitrogen of molting birds from the normal level of non-molting birds. They9 likewise found that cystine increased the extent to which casein is utilized by hens, as indicated, by the nitrogen retained by birds fed equal amounts of casein. The fact that . . .
The Dynamics of Industrial Leadership

Examines the dynamics of industrial leadership. Definition of leadership; Patterns of leadership attainment; Qualities of a leader; Development of leadership skills; Problem in solving leadership d...
Relationships Among Sires in Estimating Genetic Variance

A method to account for relationships among sires in estimating covariance among paternal half-sibs and heritability is described. The reduction in sum of squares from fitting sire effects after eliminating all other effects in the model is divided by the sum of products of elements of the matrix of coefficients after absorption and elements of the matrix of relationships among sires rather than by the trace of the matrix of coefficients. The method requires computation of relationships that for many sires may be difficult.
Vortex-Tube Cooling for Tool Wear Reduction in A390 Dry Machining

This study investigated vortex-tube cooling for dry machining of hypereutectic silicon-aluminum alloys. Experiments and numerical analysis were employed to study vortex-tube cooling effects on tool wear and cutting temperatures. A390 alloy was machined by tungsten carbides with cutting forces and temperatures measured. Vortex-tube cooling was approximated as an impinging air jet to estimate heat convection coefficients that were then incorporated into the heat transfer analysis of cutting tool temperatures. The major findings include: (1) Vortex-tube cooling may reduce tool wear in A390 machining and the minimum temperature setting is more effective, (2) Cooling effects on tool wear also depend upon machining conditions, and (3) Tool temperature decrease due to vortex-tube cooling may indirectly result in tool wear reductions.Copyright © 2005 by ASME
Immunodetectable levels of the inhibitory guanine nucleotide-binding regulatory proteins in failing human heart: discordance with measurements of adenylate cyclase activity and levels of pertussis toxin substrate.

Abstract Human hearts with idiopathic dilated cardiomyopathy have diminished adenylate cyclase activity and increased amounts of the alpha-subunit of the inhibitory guanine nucleotide-binding regulatory protein ( αG i ) as measured by pertussis toxin catalyzed ADP-ribosylation. We utilized specific antisera against synthetic peptides corresponding to amino sequences deduced from cDNA's encoding the three αG i subspecies to compare the immunologic and bioactivity levels of G i in failing and non-failing human hearts. The various antisera detected three peptides with M r 42 000, 38 000, and 37 000. Only the M r 42 000 peptide co-migrated with the pertussis toxin substrate. Although functional activity of αG i was increased in the particulate fractions of the failing heart as measured by inhibition of guanine nucleotide-stimulated adenylate cyclase activity and the quantity of pertussis toxin substrate was also increased, there were not associated changes in the levels of immunodetectable G i . Therefore, the increased functional activity of G i in the failing human heart as assessed by adenylate cyclase measurements cannot be explained by a relative increase in the amoung of G i protein.
Family-Centered Care for Children with Special Health Care Needs: Are We Moving Forward?.

Family-centered care (FCC) is widely acknowledged as supporting positive outcomes in children with special health care needs (CSHCN) and their parents. The intent of this mixed-method research was to enhance understanding of family-centered behaviors in professionals who had received specialty training in the principles of FCC and to explore provider perceptions of challenges to FCC implementation. Eighty-nine professionals who had completed the Leadership Education in Neurodevelopmental Disabilities (LEND) training program at a large, urban university were mailed an anonymous survey containing a self-report measure of FCC, the Measure of Process of Care for Service Providers, and an open-ended question on barriers to FCC. Thirty-three participants returned the survey (37% response rate). Descriptive analyses of MPOC-SP subscales indicated that the interdisciplinary professionals were providing care consistent with the principles of FCC in the areas of treating people respectfully, communicating specific ...
A Rapid Method for Demucification and Staining of Seminal Smears

DETERMINATION of the incidence of various morphologic types of spermatozoa in the ejaculate is of value in establishing levels of fertility in the male (2–5). In order to insure satisfactory and routine clinical application, a method must be rapid, must eliminate artifacts and must permit delineation of all the cellular elements present in the ejaculate. To be of real practical value, moreover, a method should give consistent results which are readily reproducible by the same observer or by other workers. A serious handicap in attaining all these objectives is the presence of extra-cellular debris and mucus which interfere with interpretations of cell morphology. The present report describes a procedure which combines demucification with extremely rapid killing and fixation. This method employs a staining technic previously described by workers in our laboratory (1). PROCEDURE Thin or thick smears are prepared in the usual manner after spontaneous liquefaction of the ejaculate has been established.
A Reconsideration of Bilateral Language Representation Based on the Intracarotid Amobarbital Procedure

Abstract Hemispheric language dominance was established for 368 epilepsy surgery candidates based on results of objective language performance during the intracarotid amobarbital procedure. Eighty-three percent of patients were found to be left hemisphere dominant, while six percent were right dominant, and eleven percent demonstrated some degree of bilateral language representation. Bilateral patients were grouped according to modality-specific patterns of language performance in each hemisphere, with a majority demonstrating left hemisphere superiority in over all language processing. Variables affecting atypical language development are reviewed and results are considered in the context of previous research.
Activation of Vav by Nef Induces Cytoskeletal Rearrangements and Downstream Effector Functions

Nef of primate lentiviruses is critical for high levels of viremia and the progression to AIDS. Nef associates with and activates a serine/threonine kinase (Nef-associated kinase [NAK]) via the small GTPases Rac1 and Cdc42. We identified the protooncogene and guanine nucleotide exchange factor Vav as the specific binding partner of Nef proteins from HIV-1 and SIV. The interaction between Nef and Vav led to increased activity of Vav and its downstream effectors. Both cytoskeletal changes and the activation of c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK) were observed. Furthermore, a dominant-negative Vav protein inhibited NAK activation and viral replication. Thus, the interaction between Nef and Vav initiates a signaling cascade that changes structural and physiological parameters in the infected cell.
Role of p53 tumor suppressor gene in the toxicity of TCDD, endrin, naphthalene, and chromium (vi) in liver and brain tissues of mice

It has been postulated that tumor suppressor genes are involved in the cascade of events leading to the toxicity of diverse xenobiotics. Therefore, we have assessed the comparative effects of 0.01, 0.10, and 0.50 median lethal doses (LD(50)) of 2,3,7, 8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (TCDD), endrin, naphthalene, and sodium dichromate (VI) [Cr(VI)] on lipid peroxidation, DNA fragmentation, and enhanced production of superoxide anion (cytochrome c reduction) in liver and brain tissues of p53-deficient and standard C57BL/6NTac mice to determine the role of p53 gene in the toxic manifestations produced by these diverse xenobiotics. In general, p53-deficient mice are more susceptible to all four xenobiotics than C57BL/6NTac mice, with dose-dependent effects being observed. Specifically, at a 0.50 LD(50) dose, naphthalene and Cr(VI) induced the greatest toxicity in the liver tissue of mice, and naphthalene and endrin exhibited the greatest effect in the brain tissue. At this dose, TCDD, endrin, naphthalene, and Cr(VI) induced 2.3- to 3.7-fold higher increases in hepatic lipid peroxidation and 1.8- to 3.0-fold higher increases in brain lipid peroxidation in p53-deficient mice than in C57BL/6NTac mice. At a 0. 10 LD(50) dose, TCDD, endrin, naphthalene, and Cr(VI) induced 1.3- to 1.8-fold higher increases in hepatic lipid peroxidation and 1.4- to 1.9-fold higher increases in brain lipid peroxidation in p53-deficient mice than in C57BL/6NTac mice. Similar results were observed with respect to DNA fragmentation and cytochrome c reduction (superoxide anion production). For example, at the 0.10 LD(50) dose, the four xenobiotics induced increases of 1.6- to 3. 0-fold and 1.5- to 2.1-fold in brain and liver DNA fragmentation, respectively, and increases of 1.5- to 2.3-fold and 1.4- to 2.5-fold in brain and liver cytochrome c reduction (superoxide anion production), respectively, in p53-deficient mice compared with control C57BL/6NTac mice. These results suggest that the p53 tumor suppressor gene may play a role in the toxicity of structurally diverse xenobiotics.
The ray tracing and energy conservation equations for mirror systems with two reflecting surfaces

Abstract We consider specular reflector systems with two mirrors and an energy source which is either a point source or a collimator. For such systems, we derive here second order partial differential equations of Monge-Ampere type expressing the ray tracing and energy conservation laws. By specializing certain parameters in these equations, one obtains explicit expressions for energy patterns produced by the output wavefront on receiver surfaces of arbitrary geometry. The resulting differential equations can be used for analysis and synthesis of reflector systems that have applications in electromagnetics and optics.
Characterization and Synthesis of Markovian Workload Models

We consider the general problem of workload model generation using Markovian Arrival Processes (MAPs). MAPs are a large class of analytically tractable processes frequently used in communication and computer network modeling. We show that MAP moment and autocorrelation formulas admit a simple scalar form deriving from spectral properties of the MAP defining matrices. This suggests a new approach for studying MAPs, by which we address challenging characterization and fitting problems as well as the open issue of synthesizing processes with prescribed moments and acf for inter-arrival times. A case study illustrates the impact of spectral-based synthesis on sensitivity analysis of network models.
Implications of retroviral and oncogene activity in chronic myelogenous leukemia

Chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML) is a stem cell disease which, on a clinical level, progresses from the release from growth control of normally differentiated cells (a preleukemic state) to an acute leukemia. On a molecular level, the evolution of CML to acute leukemia is a multistep process. We propose that an early step, at the stem cell level, is acquisition of the ability for gene movement, which allows subsequent submicroscopic and chromosomal rearrangements that cause changes in the growth characteristics and regulation of the stem cell. A specific platelet DNA polymerase (PDP - reverse transcriptase) may play a role in gene movement. The characteristic reciprocal translocation of chromosomes #9 and #22, causing the activation of the c-abl oncogene, appears to be responsible for the uncontrolled cellular growth. Yet, other growth factors (e.g., platelet derived growth factor) and activated oncogenes (e.g., c-sis) must be responsible for the stimulation, progression, and variability seen during the course of the disease. Because CML is a progressive disease with clinically definable stages, CML appears to be a model system for the study of the molecular basis of the progression of preleukemia to leukemia specifically, and preneoplasia to aggressive neoplasia in general.
Conservative Management of Tricuspid Regurgitation in Patients Undergoing Mitral Valve Replacement

Among 100 consecutive patients undergoing mitral valve replacement, 28 had clinically and hemodynamically significant tricuspid regurgitation without tricuspid stenosis. In 21 patients the mitral valve was regurgitant, and in eight it was stenotic. The characteristic murmur of tricuspid regurgitation was present in 27 patients; 25 had abnormal venous distention, 14 peripheral edema, and seven ascites; and in 27 the liver was enlarged more than 4 cm below the costal margin. The mean right atrial pressure was abnormally high in every patient (average 11 mm Hg), and 25 had severe pulmonary hypertension (average systolic pressure 75 mm Hg). At the time of mitral replacement, 25 patients had no operative procedure on the tricuspid valve, and three had a tricuspid annuloplasty. Four patients died, a mortality rate (14%) not different from that in the patients without tricuspid regurgitation. Twenty-four patients were reassessed at postoperative intervals of one to four years (average 30 months). All evidenced s...