cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Diversity of GABAergic interneurons and diversification of communication modules in cortical networks

The phenotypic diversity of cortical GABAergic neurons is likely necessary for their functional versatility in shaping exquisite spatiotemporal dynamics of circuit operations underlying cognitive processes. Deciphering the logic of this diversity requires overcoming the technical challenge of quantitative and comprehensive analysis of multi-modal cell features as well as the conceptual challenge of formulating a framework of neuronal identity that reflects biological mechanisms and principles. In the past few years, advances in high-throughput single cell analyses began to generate unprecedented datasets on interneuron transcriptomes, morphology and electrophysiology that drive their classification. Recent studies suggest that cardinal interneuron types can be defined by their synaptic communication properties encoded in key transcriptional signatures - a conceptual framework that integrates across phenotypic features and captures neuronal input-output properties elemental to circuit operation. This definition may further facilitate understanding the appropriate granularity of neuron types toward building a biologically-grounded and operationally useful interneuron taxonomy.
Investigating Potential Relationships Between Adolescents’ Cognitive Development and Perceptions of Presence in 3-D, Haptic-Enabled, Virtual Reality Science Instruction

Virtual presence describes a users’ perception of a virtual reality (VR) environment (VRE), specifically, of their involvement (sense of control within a virtual environment with minimal distractions) and immersion (multi-input sensory engagement providing apparent realism of objects and interactions). In education, virtual presence is a significant construct as highly immersive VREs have been linked to users reporting memorable and exciting teaching experiences. Prior research has described that adults and children report different levels of presence when subjected to identical VREs, suggesting cognition may play some role in users’ perceptions of presence. According to Piaget, concrete operational development is a watershed moment when adolescents develop the ability to understand abstract concepts and make assessments what is and is not reality. This period in cognitive development may influence children’s and adolescents’ perceptions of presence. This is an exploratory study of seventy-five 6th-grade and seventy-six 9th-grade students who participated in an instructional module about cardiac anatomy and physiology using a 3-D, haptic-enabled, VR technology. When surveyed on their perceptions of virtual presence, there were no reported differences between grade levels. When assessed using a Piagetian inventory of cognitive development, the analyses indicated that the sixth-grade students’ understanding of spatial rotation and angular geometry was positively correlated with the reported perceived control and negatively correlated with distraction. This study suggests that the spatial acuity of younger learners plays an important role when using VR technologies for science learning. This research raises questions about the relevance of users’ cognitive development when using emergent VR technologies in the K–12 science classroom.
Correlation of Relative Value Units With Surgical Complexity and Physician Workload in Urology.

OBJECTIVE To define the relationship between urology relative value units (RVUs) and measures of surgical complexity and physician workload. Secondary objectives include: (1) identifying procedures with outlying RVU values for their measures of surgical complexity and workload; and (2) calculating projected RVU values for these procedures. METHODS We obtained surgical case data for 71 urology current procedural terminology (CPT) codes from the 2017 American College of Surgeons National Surgical Quality Improvement Program (NSQIP) database. Pearson correlation coefficients were calculated to measure the association between mean total work RVU and operative time, length of hospital stay, serious adverse events, readmissions, and mortality. We developed a multivariable regression model to predict mean total work RVU from these measures. Studentized residuals were used to identify outlying CPT codes for both bivariable and multivariable regression models, and empirically derived RVU values from complexity and work effort metrics were estimated. RESULTS We analyzed 71 urology CPT codes encompassing 55,068 cases. RVUs correlated well with median length of hospital stay (R = 0.81), median operative time (R = 0.92), serious adverse events (R = 0.83), and readmissions (R = 0.74). RVUs were poorly correlated with mortality (R = 0.34). Outlying procedures identified using the multivariable model were retroperitoneal lymph node dissection (projected +21.09 RVUs), laparoscopic ureteroneocystotomy (projected −12.34 RVUs), and cystectomy with bilateral pelvic lymphadenectomy (projected +9.37 RVUs). CONCLUSION Urology work RVUs correlate more with operative time than other measures of surgical complexity and physician workload. There exist several significant outlying procedures for various work measures. Incorporating objective work data may improve RVU assignments in the future.
Hard to disrupt: Categorization and enumeration by gender and race from mixed displays

Abstract While much research has focused on the ways in which stereotyping and prejudice follow from category-based perception of others, less work has examined how and when category-based perception emerges in the first place. Here we adopt a number estimation task to explore perceivers' ability to estimate the number of individuals belonging to a given social category (race or gender) from briefly presented arrays of faces. We also investigate facial features that are crucial for this ability. Across 6 pre-registered studies (n = 461) we present novel evidence that 1) people can extract gender and race from brief displays of up to 14 faces (performance for race is better than gender estimation, approaching that in dot estimation); 2) only the encoding of gender is affected when hair is removed from faces, while the encoding of both gender and race is disrupted when luminance levels of the faces are equalized; and 3) this ability is disrupted by inversion when hair has been removed and luminance has been controlled but not when the stimuli are uncontrolled. This research investigates people's social category enumeration abilities with manipulations and nonsocial stimuli comparisons, and has implications for person perception and prejudice formation.
VA Programs for Justice-Involved Veterans

This chapter provides an overview of the Veterans Justice Programs, through which the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs conducts outreach to justice-involved veterans and facilitates their access to treatment and other services. These programs are considered against the backdrop of historical trends in justice involvement among veterans, and the development and growth of Veteran-focused criminal justice programming such as Veterans Treatment Courts and Veteran-specific housing units in prisons and jails. The structure and functions of the Veterans Justice Programs are detailed, along with data showing their impacts on justice-involved Veterans’ access to mental health and substance use disorder treatment.
Magnetoelastoresistance in WTe2: Exploring electronic structure and extremely large magnetoresistance under strain.

Strain describes the deformation of a material as a result of applied stress. It has been widely employed to probe transport properties of materials, ranging from semiconductors to correlated materials. In order to understand, and eventually control, transport behavior under strain, it is important to quantify the effects of strain on the electronic bandstructure, carrier density, and mobility. Here, we demonstrate that much information can be obtained by exploring magnetoelastoresistance (MER), which refers to magnetic field-driven changes of the elastoresistance. We use this powerful approach to study the combined effect of strain and magnetic fields on the semimetallic transition metal dichalcogenide W T e 2 . We discover that WTe2 shows a large and temperature-nonmonotonic elastoresistance, driven by uniaxial stress, that can be tuned by magnetic field. Using first-principle and analytical low-energy model calculations, we provide a semiquantitative understanding of our experimental observations. We show that in W T e 2 , the strain-induced change of the carrier density dominates the observed elastoresistance. In addition, the change of the mobilities can be directly accessed by using MER. Our analysis also reveals the importance of a heavy-hole band near the Fermi level on the elastoresistance at intermediate temperatures. Systematic understanding of strain effects in single crystals of correlated materials is important for future applications, such as strain tuning of bulk phases and fabrication of devices controlled by strain.
Long-term, process-based, continuous simulations for a cluster of six smaller, nested rangeland watersheds near Tombstone, AZ (USA): Establishing a baseline for event-based runoff and sediment yields.

Abstract Accurately predicting long-term, process-based runoff and sediment yields measured at the outlet of even small watersheds can be challenging. The assessments following careful parameter determination enable establishing a baseline for local land management to assess policy implementations and rehabilitation especially under climate or land use/cover changes. Process-based, continuous models have demonstrated their advantage of representing event-based hydrological responses at smaller spatial and temporal scales. In this study, the Geospatial interface for the Water Erosion Prediction Project (WEPP) is validated for a series six, neighboring, nested subwatersheds (101 to 106) at Lucky Hills, Walnut Gulch Experimental Watershed (WGEW), Tombstone, Arizona (USA). The primary objective of this study is to assess short-term parameterization and long-term verification and simulation validation of GeoWEPP based on 55 years of runoff and sediment yields for six subwatersheds. The effective hydraulic conductivity (Keff) parameter is adjusted based on runoff observed in watershed 101 using a research-grade 1 m-Digital Elevation Model (DEM). The performance of runoff simulated generated by an aggregated 5 m-resolution DEM lead to better results in contrast to using the original 1 m- or aggregated 3 m-resolution. Since there are no sediment yield observations for that watershed, the similar sized, neighboring watershed 102 and a publicly available DEM were used to parameterize critical shear. The short-term verification of Keff as well as the long-term verification of Keff and critical shear stress indicate that both parameters generated based on one subwatershed can be used to accurately predict the runoff in all other watersheds in the study area. However, the results have a tendency to slightly over-estimate runoff, and become more significant with the distance from the rainfall and runoff gauges for the watershed that was used for the Keff parameter estimation. For sediment yields, the results indicate that the short-term parameterization of shear stress based on one watershed can potentially lead to significantly different results for neighboring watersheds. The results are the baseline for spatially distributed shear stress and channel erosion parameter validation and impact assessment for future climate and land use changes.
Pathogenic Role of PPARα Downregulation in Corneal Nerve Degeneration and Impaired Corneal Sensitivity in Diabetes

The purpose of this study was to investigate the protective role of Peroxisome Proliferator-Activated Receptor-alpha (PPARα) against diabetic keratopathy and corneal neuropathy. Corneal samples were obtained from diabetic and non-diabetic human donors. Streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats and mice were orally treated with PPARα agonist fenofibrate. As shown by immunohistochemistry and Western blotting, PPARα was down-regulated in the corneas of diabetic humans and rats. Immunostaining of β-III tubulin demonstrated that corneal nerve fiber metrics were decreased significantly in diabetic rats and mice, which was partially prevented by fenofibrate treatment. As evaluated using a Cochet-Bonnet aesthesiometer, corneal sensitivity was significantly decreased in diabetic mice, which was prevented by fenofibrate. PPARα-/- mice displayed progressive decreases in the corneal nerve fiber density. Consistently, corneal sensitivity was decreased in PPARα-/- mice relative to wild-type mice by nine months of age. Diabetic mice showed increased incidence of spontaneous corneal epithelial lesion, which was prevented by fenofibrate while exacerbated by PPARα knockout. Western blot analysis revealed significantly altered neurotrophic factor levels in diabetic rat corneas, which were partially restored by fenofibrate treatment. These results indicate that PPARα protects corneal nerve from degeneration induced by diabetes, and PPARα agonists have therapeutic potential in the treatment of diabetic keratopathy.
Acute Zonal Occult Outer Retinopathy (AZOOR): a case report of regression following intravitreal dexamethasone (Ozurdex) implant.

Purpose To report the use of dexamethasone (Ozurdex, Allergan Inc.) intravitreal implant in the management of acute zonal occult outer retinopathy (AZOOR). Methods Observational case report RESULTS:: A 63-year-old woman presented with a 10-year history of progressing bilateral, though asymmetric, visual impairment and scotomata with clinical and imaging findings compatible with AZOOR. The right eye had recently progressed rapidly until macular involvement occurred with loss of visual acuity. Under our observation progression toward the fovea in the left eye occurred, Ozurdex intravitreal implant treatment was offered and administered. Autofluorescence imaging documented resolution of the hyperautofluorescent borders and slight regression of the involved retina. An injection was repeated every 6 months for 3 injections, and after a follow-up period of 20 months after the first and 8 months after the last injection, no further signs of progression were observed in her left eye. Conclusion Dexamethasone implant effectively achieved regression of active disease in a patient with longstanding, progressive AZOOR.
Amphiphilic aminoglycosides with increased selectivity for inhibition of connexin 43 (Cx43) hemichannels

Gap junction channels formed by the association of connexin hemichannels play a crucial role in intercellular communication. Connexin 43 (Cx43) is expressed in a variety of tissues and organs, including heart and brain, and abnormal sustained opening of undocked "free" hemichannels contributes to the cell damage in cardiac infarcts and stroke. Selective inhibitors of Cx43 hemichannels for clinical use are then desirable. Here, we synthesized and tested new aminoglycosides for their connexin inhibitory activity towards Cx26 and Cx43 hemichannels. The lead compounds displayed enhanced Cx43/Cx26 selectivity for hemichannel inhibition when compared to the parent kanamycin A and other commercially available aminoglycosides. These lead compounds are not cytotoxic to mammalian cells and show promise for the treatment of ischemic damage of the heart, brain, and kidneys. We identified a new compound as a promising lead based on its good selectivity for Cx43 hemichannels inhibition and the simplicity and affordability of its production.
More than just remembering the 100th anniversary of (White) women’s suffrage: vote to rematriate the land

The Journal of Community Practice is pleased to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the 19th Amendment to the United States Constitution. On August 18th, 1920, the US Congress ratified an amendment ...
A Sequential Composition Framework for Coordinating Multirobot Behaviors

A number of coordinated behaviors are proposed for achieving specific tasks for multirobot systems. However, since most applications require more than one such behavior, one needs to be able to compose together sequences of behaviors while respecting local information flow constraints. Specifically, when the interagent communication depends on interrobot distances, these constraints translate into particular configurations that must be reached in finite time in order for the system to be able to transition between the behaviors. To this end, we develop a distributed framework based on finite-time convergence control barrier functions that enables a team of robots to adjust its configuration in order to meet the communication requirements for the different tasks. In order to demonstrate the significance of the proposed framework, we implemented a full-scale scenario where a team of eight planar robots explore an urban environment in order to localize and rescue a subject.
O29 Online Nutrition Education Resources for Low-Income Georgian Populations: Interest Among Community and Clinic-Based Organizations

Background Community and clinic-based health care organizations play a vital role in administering nutrition education to low-income populations facing various financial and geographical barriers. Technology-based, online programs are accessible, flexible, and low-cost options to provide this audience with reliable nutrition education. Objective This study examined the current status of nutrition education and needs for online nutrition education resources among low-income Georgians from community and clinic-based health care providers' perspectives. Study Design, Setting, Participants A statewide online survey was conducted in a sample of 163 community key informants (86.8% female, 18.3% African American) serving a SNAP-eligible population. Purposive and convenience sampling methods were used to recruit 113 respondents from University of Georgia Cooperative Extension (UGA CE) and 50 community and clinic-based health care providers (HCPs), respectively. The survey included questions assessing nutrition education programs, partnerships, and eLearning experience and interest. Measurable Outcome/Analysis Descriptive analyses were conducted to summarize sample characteristics and responses to the online survey's key domains. Results Existing nutrition education programs were more prevalent in UGA CE settings (87.5%) than HCP settings (56.3%). Overall, experience in providing online programs was low among UGA CE and HCP respondents (18.8% and 28.3%, respectively). Participants from both groups expressed interest in offering online nutrition education programs to their clients (75.6% for UGA CE and 84.8% for HCPs), especially those from rurally based organizations. The most preferred format of online nutrition education programs was interactive scenario/game-based learning. Perceived challenges to offering online programs included client interest and motivation, access to technical assistance, and funding. Conclusion Organizations serving low-income Georgian populations are interested in offering online nutrition education programs to expand their current services and better reach their clientele. The findings of this study will inform the implementation and dissemination strategies for evidence-based online nutrition education programming for low-income Georgians.
Switching Characteristics of a 1.2 kV, 50 mΩ SiC Monolithic Bidirectional Field Effect Transistor (BiDFET) with Integrated JBS Diodes

The switching performance of large area (1cm x 1cm) monolithic 1.2 kV 50 mΩ 4H-SiC bidirectional field effect transistor (BiDFET) with integrated JBS diodes is reported for the first time. The devices were fabricated in a 6-inch commercial foundry and then packaged in a custom-designed four-terminal module. The switching performance of the BiDFET has been observed to be 1.4x better than that of its internal JBSFETs. Dynamic characterization was performed at 800 V with different gate resistances, current levels and case temperatures. An increase in switching losses was observed for the BiDFET with increasing gate resistance and current level as observed for SiC power MOSFETs. The BiDFET showed a 9% reduction in total switching loss from 25 °C to 150 °C with a current of 10 A.
A neural network-based method for exhaustive cell label assignment using single cell RNA-seq data

ABSTRACT The fast-advancing single cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq) technology enables researchers to study the transcriptome of heterogeneous tissues at a single cell level. The initial important step of analyzing scRNA-seq data is usually to accurately annotate cells. The traditional approach of annotating cell types based on unsupervised clustering and marker genes is time-consuming and laborious. Taking advantage of the numerous existing scRNA-seq databases, many supervised label assignment methods have been developed. One feature that many label assignment methods shares is to label cells with low confidence as “unassigned.” These unassigned cells can be the result of assignment difficulties due to highly similar cell types or caused by the presence of unknown cell types. However, when unknown cell types are not expected, existing methods still label a considerable number of cells as unassigned, which is not desirable. In this work, we develop a neural network-based cell annotation method called NeuCA (Neural network-based Cell Annotation) for scRNA-seq data obtained from well-studied tissues. NeuCA can utilize the hierarchical structure information of the cell types to improve the annotation accuracy, which is especially helpful when data contain closely correlated cell types. We show that NeuCA can achieve more accurate cell annotation results compared with existing methods. Additionally, the applications on eight real datasets show that NeuCA has stable performance for intra- and inter-study annotation, as well as cross-condition annotation. NeuCA is freely available as an R/Bioconductor package at https://bioconductor.org/packages/NeuCA.
Patterns of health care utilization among Medicare beneficiaries diagnosed with pancreatic adenocarcinoma.

Abstract Background Care patterns among patients diagnosed with pancreatic adenocarcinoma remain poorly defined. Methods Cluster analysis was performed on patients with pancreatic adenocarcinoma to assess time from diagnosis to death spent in different care settings (home self-care-dominant[HSC], acute in-hospital care-dominant[ACS], hospice care-dominant[HC] or mixed home and hospice care[MHH]). Results Among 32,816 patients, most belonged to the HSC group (n = 13,459, 41%), followed by MHH (n = 9,091, 28%), ACS (n = 5,737, 18%) and HC (n = 4,529, 14%). Only about 1 in 3 patients in the HSC (n = 4,028, 30%) or ACS (n = 2,206, 35%) received hospice services for at least one week before death. 16% of patients (n = 5,188) died in the hospital, which was most common among ACS patients (n = 1,640, 29%). Median daily expenditures varied according to health care utilization (HSC, $44.6, IQR 12.3–130.1 vs MHH, $162.3, IQR 60.5–351.9 vs ACS, $489.7, IQR 243.2–856.8 vs HC, $306.1, IQR 132.3–580.0; p Conclusions Pancreatic adenocarcinoma patients differed with regards to health care utilization, hospice use and expenditures following diagnosis.
A bound iron porphyrin is redox active in hybrid bacterial reaction centers modified to possess a four-helix bundle domain.

In this paper we report the design of hybrid reaction centers with a novel redox-active cofactor. Reaction centers perform the primary photochemistry of photosynthesis, namely the light-induced transfer of an electron from the bacteriochlorophyll dimer to a series of electron acceptors. Hybrid complexes were created by the fusion of an artificial four-helix bundle to the M-subunit of the reaction center. Despite the large modification, optical spectra show that the purified hybrid reaction centers assemble as active complexes that retain the characteristic cofactor absorption peaks and are capable of light-induced charge separation. The four-helix bundle could bind iron-protoporphyrin in either a reduced and oxidized state. After binding iron-protoporphyrin to the hybrid reaction centers, light excitation results in a new derivative signal with a maximum at 402 nm and minimum at 429 nm. This signal increases in amplitude with longer light durations and persists in the dark. No signal is observed when iron-protoporphyrin is added to reaction centers without the four-helix bundle domain or when a redox-inactive zinc-protoporphyrin is bound. The results are consistent with the signal arising from a new redox reaction, electron transfer from the iron-protoporphyrin to the oxidized bacteriochlorophyll dimer. These outcomes demonstrate the feasibility of binding porphyrins to the hybrid reaction centers to gain new light-driven functions.
Self-Pulsing in an Optical Ring Cavity Coupled with Three-Level Atoms

One of the reasons for the recent rising interest in electromagnetically induced transparency (EIT) in multilevel atomic systems [1] is its potential application in enhancing nonlinear optical processes. Several experiments were carried out recently to show that the atomic coherence effect in multi-level atomic systems could reduce absorption and enhance frequency conversion and four-wave mixing processes [2, 3]. On the other hand, when two level atoms are put into an optical cavity, many nonlinear processes, such as optical bistability and instability, occur. Recently, several theoretical papers proposed switching effects in three-level and four-level atomic systems with and without an optical cavity [4, 5]. These nonlinear optical effects are caused by enhanced Kerr-nonlinearity and dramatic changes in the dispersion slope due to atomic coherence in such multi-level atomic systems. Recently, we have measured the enhanced Kerr-nonlinear index of refraction n 2 of three-level A-type atoms by using an optical ring cavity and found a large modification of n 2 as functions of the frequency detunings of the probe and coupling lasers. We also observed self-pulsation of cavity transmission when the coupling frequency is tuned to atomic resonance and the probe frequency is detuned from resonance by a few MHz. In this paper, we report such observation and discuss its physical mechanism.
Binding of mTOR (Mammalian Target of Rapamycin) to the Raptor-eIF4E-4EBP1 complex changes during myogenic differentiation.

Proc Amer Assoc Cancer Res, Volume 45, 2004 2027 The mammalian target of rapamycin, (mTOR), controls cell growth and proliferation via regulating ribosomal S6K1 and 4EBP1, the suppressor of eukaryotic initiation factor 4E (eIF4E, the mRNA cap-binding protein). Rapamycin, a very specific inhibitor of mTOR signaling inhibits myogenic differentiation in C2C12 myoblasts. However, exactly why mTOR signaling is essential in myogenic differentiation remains obscure. In cells mTOR is thought to exist in a large complex (> 1 megaDa) with several proteins including Raptor and GβL, and possibly other proteins. Previous studies reported that Raptor binds to mTOR though HEAT regions and binds to 4EBP1 through C terminal TOS motif of 4EBP1 to regulate the mTOR pathway. However, it is unknown whether mTOR complexes are regulated during myogenic differentiation. In this study we have analyzed complexes associated with eIF4E under conditions of growth (growth medium, GM) or differentiation (differentiation medium, DM). Under both conditions eIF4E binds to 7-methyl-GTP-sepharose-4B resin, and can be readily isolated. Using this ‘pull-down’ technique we have analyzed proteins bound to eIF4E under GM and DM. When C2C12 cells were cultured in GM, 4EBP1 and Raptor were associated with eIF4E, but mTOR was not detected in the complex. When C2C12 cells were cultured in DM for 24 hrs, mTOR was strongly detected in the eIF4E complex. These results suggest a conformational change during early differentiation that yields tight binding of mTOR to Raptor. Under nutrient restriction (low amino acids) Raptor binds more tightly to mTOR and inhibits mTOR-dependent signaling (Kim et al. Cell 110:163, 2002 ). To determine whether the mTOR-Raptor complex induced under DM also inhibited signaling, we examined the phosphorylation of two downstream targets of mTOR, p70S6K (Thr389) and 4EBP1 (Thr37). In contrast to the effect of amino acid deficiency, mTOR signaling is not inhibited in differentiating myoblasts. These results suggest that the affinity of mTOR-Raptor interactions increases during myogenic differentiation, and may be essential for terminal differentiation. The effect of rapamycin on the eIF4E-4EBP1-Raptor-mTOR complex in differentiating myoblasts will be presented. Supported by PHS grant CA77776
Wide area network design: concepts and tools for optimization

1 Introduction 2 "Hello World" of Network Design 3 Graphs, Trees, and Tours 4 Traffic and Cost Generators 5 Access Network Design 6 Multiple Speed Access Designs 7 Multi-Center Local Access Design 8 Mesh Network Design 9 Mesh Network Design-II 10 Network Design with Constraints 11 Network Redesign 12 Closing Words Glossary
Societal Ramifications of the New Scientific Conception of Human Beings

A major revolution occurred in science during the twentieth century. This change leads to a profound transformation of the scientific conception of human beings. Whereas the former conception of man undermines rational moral philosophy, the new one can buttress it.
SPNP: Stochastic Petri Nets. Version 6.0

The Stochastic Petri Net Package (SPNP) [2] is a versatile modeling tool for solution of Stochastic Petri Net (SPN) models. The SPN models are described in the input language for SPNP called CSPL (C-based SPN Language) which is an extension of the C programming language [8] with additional constructs which facilitate easy description of SPN models. Moreover, if the user does not want to describe his model in CSPL, a Graphical User Interface (GUI) is available to specify all the characteristics as well as the parameters of the solution method chosen to solve the model.
Heights in Generalized Tries and PATRICIA Tries

We consider digital trees such as (generalized) tries and PATRICIA tries, built from n random strings generated by an unbiased memoryless source (i.e., all symbols are equally likely). We study limit laws of the height which is defined as the longest path in such trees. For tries, in the region where most of the probability mass is concentrated, the asymptotic distribution is of extreme value type (i.e., double exponential distribution). Surprisingly enough, the height of the PATRICIA trie behaves quite differently in this region: It exhibits an exponential of a Gaussian distribution (with an oscillating term) around the most probable value \(k_1=\lfloor \log_2 n + \sqrt{2\log_2 n} -- \frac{3}{2}\rfloor + 1\). In fact, the asymptotic distribution of PATRICIA height concentrates on one or two points. For most n all the mass is concentrated at k1, however, there exist subsequences of n such that the mass is on the two points k1 − 1 and k1, or k1 and k1 + 1. We derive these results by a combination of analytic methods such as generating functions, Mellin transform, the saddle point method and ideas of applied mathematics such as linearization, asymptotic matching and the WKB method.
Envisioning the Educational Possibilities of User-Created Virtual Worlds.

Educational games and simulations can engage students in higher-level cognitive thinking, such as interpreting, analyzing, discovering, evaluating, acting, and problem solving. Recent technical advances in multiplayer, usercreated virtual worlds have significantly expanded the capabilities of user interaction and development within these simulated worlds. This ability to develop and interact with your own simulated world offers many new and exciting educational possibilities. This article explores the technical capabilities and educational potential of these new worlds. Additionally, it presents and illustrates a model, which uses interaction combinations, to identify course content and topics having educational applications in virtual worlds.
When Midlife Therapists Treat Midlife Patients

Abstract Empathic attunement is the bedrock of self psychological treatment. In the treatment of midlifers who show underlying narcissistic vulnerability, achieving such empathy is sometimes more difficult that one might imagine, particularly since therapists, who are midlifers themselves, are often vulnerable to the impact of midlife stresses. Potential stumbling blocks may arise that stem from therapists' identification with and anxiety about patients' struggles that are similar to their own; difficulties relating to patients' problems that seem unfamiliar or alien; and assaults to therapists' own sense of self or selfobject needs.
Multimedia integration in the RACE BANK multimedia broadband cooperation projects

Within the framework of the European research programme RACE a project called BANK ("Banking Applications using IBC Network") has been established. In this project, two major European banks cooperate with three software houses, a telecom supplier and an IT supplier with the goal of investigating and prototyping a multimedia banking self-service terminal. This terminal will allow the banks to offer their customers both high-quality, eye-catching information on banking services and the opportunity to enter a desktop conference with a remote bank expert. The conference includes audio, face-to-face video and shared text/graphics applications that support the expert in promoting certain banking services to the customer. This paper details the project scenario background and discusses the technologies that have been applied to multimedia integration, including computer platform and networking related questions. Design criteria for the shared application are presented, and some overall conclusions are drawn.
Book Review: Law 101: Everything You Need to Know About American Law, 3rd Edition

This is a book review of Law 101: Everything You Need to Know about American Law, 3rd edition, by Jay M. Feinman.
Human DNA ligase III bridges two DNA ends to promote specific intermolecular DNA end joining

Mammalian DNA ligase III (LigIII) functions in both nuclear and mitochondrial DNA metabolism. In the nucleus, LigIII has functional redundancy with DNA ligase I whereas LigIII is the only mitochondrial DNA ligase and is essential for the survival of cells dependent upon oxidative respiration. The unique LigIII zinc finger (ZnF) domain is not required for catalytic activity but senses DNA strand breaks and stimulates intermolecular ligation of two DNAs by an unknown mechanism. Consistent with this activity, LigIII acts in an alternative pathway of DNA double strand break repair that buttresses canonical non-homologous end joining (NHEJ) and is manifest in NHEJ-defective cancer cells, but how LigIII acts in joining intermolecular DNA ends versus nick ligation is unclear. To investigate how LigIII efficiently joins two DNAs, we developed a real-time, fluorescence-based assay of DNA bridging suitable for high-throughput screening. On a nicked duplex DNA substrate, the results reveal binding competition between the ZnF and the oligonucleotide/oligosaccharide-binding domain, one of three domains constituting the LigIII catalytic core. In contrast, these domains collaborate and are essential for formation of a DNA-bridging intermediate by adenylated LigIII that positions a pair of blunt-ended duplex DNAs for efficient and specific intermolecular ligation.
Some Multilinear Forms with Large Isometry Groups

Many groups are best described as the group of automorphisms of some natural object. I’m interested in obtaining such descriptions of the finite simple groups, and more generally descriptions of the groups of Lie type over arbitrary fields. The representation of the alternating group of degree n as the group of automorphisms of a set of order n is an excellent example of such a description. The representation of the classical groups as the isometry groups of bilinear or sequilinear forms is another.
Pharmacokinetics of sustained-release etodolac

Etodolac exhibits linear pharmacokinetics, good oral bioavailability, greater than 99% protein binding, a low oral clearance (almost exclusively non-renal), a relatively small volume of distribution and a half-life that averages 7.3±4.0 h. No significant pharmacokinetic differences have been noted in patients with mild to moderate renal impairment, in patients with cirrhosis, in the elderly or in patients with arthritis. The pharmacodynamics of the drug are well characterized in terms of pain intensity differences (PID) yielding an EC50 of 13 μg/ml. The extensive kinetic/dynamica characterization of etodolac, together with its short half-life, makes the drug an ideal candidate for a sustained-release (SR), once-a-day formulation. Etodolac SR formulations exhibit the same pharmacokinetic characteristics as the conventional-release (CR) formulation, except for a longer time to peak concentration and a lower peak concentration. Fluctuation ratios upon multiple dosing are comparable for equal total daily doses of etodolac SR and twice-daily doses of the CR formulation. Administration with food (high-fat meal) did not affect areas under the curve for either the CR or the SR product. Simulation analyses for etodolac SR suggest that PID responses are maintained over 24 h.
From Layout Directly to Simulation: A First-Principle-Guided Circuit Simulator of Linear Complexity and Its Efficient Parallelization

In this paper, guided by electromagnetics-based first principles, the authors develop a transient simulator that allows for the simulation of an integrated circuit including both nonlinear devices and the layout of the linear network in linear complexity. The proposed circuit simulator rigorously captures the coupling between nonlinear circuits and the linear network. In addition, it bypasses the step of circuit extraction, producing a resistor-inductor-capacitor representation of the linear network without any numerical computation. Moreover, it permits an almost embarrassingly parallel implementation on a many-core computing platform, and hence enabling linear speedup. Application to die-package co-simulation as well as very large-scale on-chip circuits involving over complementary metal-oxide semiconductor transistors and interconnects having hundreds of millions of unknowns has demonstrated the superior performance of the proposed first-principle-guided circuit simulator.
On the norms of interpolating operators

In this paper we estimate the norms of linear interpolating operators from the space of continuous functions onto polynomials. The estimate eliminates the gap between classical results of Faber and Bernstein. It also provides an affirmative answer to a question recently raised by J. Szabados.
Experience with terazosin administered in combination with other antihypertensive agents

In a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, multicenter trial, the efficacy and safety of terazosin in combination with other antihypertensive agents were assessed using patients with inadequately controlled essential hypertension (supine diastolic blood pressure 95 mm Hg or greater). Of 138 evaluable patients, the terazosin-treated group (n = 84) achieved a significant (p less than 0.05) mean reduction of 7.3 mm Hg in supine diastolic blood pressure when compared with the placebo-treated group (n = 54) who achieved a reduction of 0.6 mm Hg. Analysis of patients by background therapeutic categories (beta blocker, beta blocker plus diuretic, or "other") revealed that terazosin caused a significantly greater decrease in supine diastolic blood pressure than did placebo when added to the combination of beta blocker plus diuretic (decrease of 7.2 mm Hg for the terazosin group versus a decrease of 1.5 mm Hg for the placebo group) and to other antihypertensive drugs (decrease of 7.9 mm Hg for the terazosin group versus a decrease of 1.0 mm Hg for the placebo group). Significant differences between treatment groups were also observed for supine systolic and for standing systolic and diastolic blood pressure variables in select subgroups. The addition of terazosin did not cause significant changes in physical examinations or electrocardiograms. Changes in pulse rates and body weight did not differ significantly between treatment groups for any background therapeutic category. The overall incidence of adverse experiences was only somewhat greater for terazosin-treated than placebo-treated patients. These results suggest that terazosin is safe and effective when administered in combination with other antihypertensive drugs.
Estimation of inter-detector lag in multi-detection gel permeation chromatography

Abstract An analytical method for estimating the lag between concentration and molecular-mass-sensitive detectors has been developed. This method is simple in its approach and does not require any knowledge about the molecular mass distribution of the polymer sample used in the analysis. The elution behavior results obtained using the lag value from this method correlate well with those obtained from the traditional gel permeation chromatography peak calibration method.
Macromolecular assemblies in reduced gravity environments

The assembly of protein macro molecules into structures commonly produced within biological systems was achieved using in vitro techniques carried out in nominal as well as reduced gravity environments. Appropriate hardware was designed and fabricated to support such studies. Experimental protocols were matched to the available reduced gravity test opportunities. In evaluations of tubulin, fibrin and collagen assembly products the influence of differing gravity test conditions are apparent. Product homogeneity and organization were characteristic enhancements documented in reduced gravity samples. These differences can be related to the fluid flow conditions that exist during in vitro product formation. Reduced gravity environments may provide a robust opportunity for directing the products formed in a variety of bioprocessing applications.
Differential effects of acetate on palmitate and octanoate oxidation: segregation of acetyl CoA pools.

Abstract In isolated hepatic mitochondria, sodium acetate had little effect on the oxidation of octanoate, but conspicuously inhibited the oxidation of palmitate. This differential effect of acetate on long-chain and short-chain fatty acid oxidation is not due to inhibition of the activation or transfer of long-chain fatty acids into the mitochondria. Both palmitate and octanoate reduced CO2 production from acetate. Palmitate and octanoate mutually inhibited CO2 production from each other to the same extent. Acetate stimulated ketogenesis from palmitoyl-1-carnitine to the same extent as it inhibited oxygen uptake and CO2 production from palmitate. This suggests that acetate causes a redistribution of the end products of palmitate oxidation toward ketogenesis rather than toward total oxidation to CO2 and H2O. Acetyl CoA derived from acetate or palmitate may share a common pool or pathway, thus each is mutally inhibitory toward the oxidation of the other. Either because of the existence of separate pools, or because octanoate is the preferred substrate, acetate metabolism does not inhibit O2 uptake or CO2 production from octanoate, whereas the oxidation of octanoate dilutes the CO2 produced from labeled acetate. This may be explained by compartmentation or preferred pathways for the disposition of acetyl CoA derived from different sources.
Analysis of ACF Contact Resistance

An analysis of the electrical resistance of an anisotropic conducting film (ACF) bond is presented. The electrical circuit for the bond resistance is divided into its different geometric regions for analysis. While the analysis of the resistance resulting from the bond pads is more complex than other regions because of the multiple random contact points, it is argued that the formula developed by Greenwood gives an adequate estimate of this contribution. A comparison is made of this estimate with evaluations in the literature, and the importance of the disagreement between methods is discussed. The magnitude of the contact resistance between the contact pad and particle (including film and constriction resistance), and the resistance of the deformed particle, are still contentious issues, and evidence is presented addressing this issue. In all previous reported results, excluding the author’s, the implicit assumption is that the apparent physical area of contact between the deformed particle and the bond pad is equal to the real area of electrical contact. This work reinforces the author’s contention that the electrical contact area is only a small fraction of the mechanical contact area, just as it is in separable contacts. A calculation is presented that evaluates the effect of electrically heating the ACF bond in order to separate the contact resistance from the remaining bulk resistance of the interconnect. In this technique, the small metal asperities (a-spots) on the surface of the apparent contact region are preferentially electrically heated due to their much higher current density, which in turn changes the resistance of the a-spot. Previous calculations of this effect have been carried out only for conductors that obey the Wiedemann-Franz law, and calculations in this work have extended the results to materials used in ACF bonds that depart significantly from the Wiedemann-Franz law. Further, it is argued that the observed larger than expected contact resistance in ACA bonds is likely due to a high resistivity temperature independent film resistance.Copyright © 2003 by ASME
How and When Factual Ad Claims Mislead Consumers: Examining the Deceptive Consequences of Copy x Copy Interactions for Partial Comparative Advertisements

The current research considers how ad claims that are factual may mislead consumers. This possibility is examined in the context of advertisements that present a combination of comparative and nonc...
American Society of Anesthesiologists class and Charlson's Comorbidity index as predictors of postoperative colorectal anastomotic leak: a single-institution experience

Abstract Background The American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) physical status classification and Charlson comorbidity index (CCI) was adopted to assess patients' physical condition before surgery. Studies suggest that ASA score and CCI might be a prognostic criterion (indicator) for patient outcome. The aim of this study is to determine if ASA classification and CCI can determine the risk of anastomotic leaks (AL) in patients who underwent colorectal surgery. Methods A retrospective analysis of 505 consecutive colorectal resections with primary anastomoses between 2008 and 2012 was performed at a university hospital. ASA score, CCI, surgical procedure, length of stay, age, body mass index (BMI), comorbidities, and postoperative outcomes were analyzed. Results Two hundred sixty-five patients had an ASA score of I and II, 227 patients had an ASA score of III, and 13 patients had an ASA score of IV. A total of 19 patients had an anastomotic leak (ASA I–II: 5 patients, 1.9%; ASA III: 12 patients, 5.58%; ASA IV: 2 patients, 18.18%). A higher ASA score was significantly associated with AL on further analysis (OR: 2.99, 95% CI: 1.345–6.670, P = 0.007). When matched for age, BMI, and CCI on logistic regression analysis, increased ASA level was independently related to an increased likelihood of leak (ORsteroids = 14.35, P Conclusions ASA score, but not CCI, is independently associated with anastomotic leak. Patients with a high ASA class should be closely followed postoperatively for AL after colorectal operations.