cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Rearrangement of Influenza Virus Spliced Segments for the Development of Live-Attenuated Vaccines

UNLABELLED Influenza viral infections represent a serious public health problem, with influenza virus causing a contagious respiratory disease which is most effectively prevented through vaccination. Segments 7 (M) and 8 (NS) of the influenza virus genome encode mRNA transcripts that are alternatively spliced to express two different viral proteins. This study describes the generation, using reverse genetics, of three different recombinant influenza A/Puerto Rico/8/1934 (PR8) H1N1 viruses containing M or NS viral segments individually or modified M or NS viral segments combined in which the overlapping open reading frames of matrix 1 (M1)/M2 for the modified M segment and the open reading frames of nonstructural protein 1 (NS1)/nuclear export protein (NEP) for the modified NS segment were split by using the porcine teschovirus 1 (PTV-1) 2A autoproteolytic cleavage site. Viruses with an M split segment were impaired in replication at nonpermissive high temperatures, whereas high viral titers could be obtained at permissive low temperatures (33°C). Furthermore, viruses containing the M split segment were highly attenuated in vivo, while they retained their immunogenicity and provided protection against a lethal challenge with wild-type PR8. These results indicate that influenza viruses can be effectively attenuated by the rearrangement of spliced segments and that such attenuated viruses represent an excellent option as safe, immunogenic, and protective live-attenuated vaccines. Moreover, this is the first time in which an influenza virus containing a restructured M segment has been described. Reorganization of the M segment to encode M1 and M2 from two separate, nonoverlapping, independent open reading frames represents a useful tool to independently study mutations in the M1 and M2 viral proteins without affecting the other viral M product. IMPORTANCE Vaccination represents our best therapeutic option against influenza viral infections. However, the efficacy of current influenza vaccines is suboptimal, and novel approaches are necessary for the prevention of disease caused by this important human respiratory pathogen. In this work, we describe a novel approach to generate safer and more efficient live-attenuated influenza virus vaccines (LAIVs) based on recombinant viruses whose genomes encode nonoverlapping and independent M1/M2 (split M segment [Ms]) or both M1/M2 and NS1/NEP (Ms and split NS segment [NSs]) open reading frames. Viruses containing a modified M segment were highly attenuated in mice but were able to confer, upon a single intranasal immunization, complete protection against a lethal homologous challenge with wild-type virus. Notably, the protection efficacy conferred by our viruses with split M segments was better than that conferred by the current temperature-sensitive LAIV. Altogether, these results open a new avenue for the development of safer and more protective LAIVs on the basis of the reorganization of spliced viral RNA segments in the genome.
Robust stability analysis for uncertain neutral control systems with time-varying delays

To better handle the problem on robust stability for neutral control systems,in which time-varying delay was involved,a stability criterion with less conservatism was put forward.Firstly,a novel Lyapunov-Krasovskii functional was constructed based on the uncertain neutral control system model.The generalized convex combination and integral inequality techniques were altogether employed,which can help to estimate the derivative of Lyapunov-Krasovskii functional and effectively extend the application area of the results.Secondly,by taking the lower and upper bounds of time-delays and their derivatives,a criterion on asymptotical and robust stability were presented in terms of linear matrix inequality(LMI),which can be easily checked by resorting to LMI in Matlab Toolbox.Finally,through one numerical example the criterion was compared with relative ones.The smaller delay upper bound was obtained by the criteria,which demonstrates that our stability criterion can reduce the conservatism more efficiently than those earlier ones.
CT overuse for mild traumatic brain injury.

Article-at-a-Glance Background Multiple, validated, evidence-based guidelines exist to inform the appropriate use of computed tomography (CT) to differentiate mild traumatic brain injury (MTBI) from clinically important brain injury and to prevent the overuse of CT. Yet, CT use is growing rapidly, potentially exposing patients to unnecessary ionizing radiation risk and costs. A study was conducted to quantify the overuse of CT in MTBI on the basis of current guideline recommendations. Methods A retrospective analysis of secondary data from a prospective observational study was undertaken at an urban, Level I emergency department (ED) with more than 90,000 visits per year. For adult patients with minor head injury receiving CT imaging at the discretion of the treating physician, the proportion of cases meeting criteria for CT on the basis of the Canadian CT Head Rule (CCHR), American College of Emergency Physicians (ACEP) Clinical Policy, New Orleans Criteria (NOC), and National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) guidelines was reported. Results All 346 patients enrolled in the original study were included in the analysis. The proportion of cases meeting criteria for CT for each of the guidelines was: CCHR 64.7% (95% confidence interval [CI], 0.60–0.70), ACEP 74.3% (95% CI, 0.70–0.79), NICE 86.7% (95% CI, 0.83–0.90), and NOC 90.5% (95% CI, 0.87–0.94). The odds ratio of the guidelines for predicting positive head CT findings were also reported. Discussion Some 10%–35% of CTs obtained in the ED for MTBI were not recommended according to the guidelines. Successful implementation of existing guidelines could decrease CT use in MTBI by up to 35%, leading to a significant reduction in radiation-induced cancers and health care costs.
Methylphenidate and Seizures

The effects of methylphenidate in ten children with attention deficit complicated by seizure disorders are reported from the Departments of Pediatrics and Neurology, Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh, PA.
Automated photopeak detection and analysis in low resolution gamma-ray spectra for isotope identification

Automated isotope identification has long been an important problem in homeland security and nuclear emergency response. This process is difficult for low-resolution spectra because peaks can be significantly overlapping. Also, their areas can be difficult to determine because of the fluctuating baseline due to the Compton continuum across the whole spectrum. The wavelet transform stands out among many potential solutions of this problem, owing to its ability to de-noise noisy signals, pattern matching, and simultaneous multi-resolution signal analysis. In this paper, a novel wavelet-based algorithm for detecting peaks and measuring their areas is introduced, and specific wavelets are selected to find the optimal scale of signal analysis. Their abilities in locating peaks, resolving overlapping peaks, and determining peak areas are presented and assessed with both simulated signals and real gamma-ray spectra.
Phase I dose escalation study of the PI3kinase pathway inhibitor BKM120 and the oral poly (ADP ribose) polymerase (PARP) inhibitor olaparib for the treatment of high-grade serous ovarian and breast cancer

ABSTRACT Background Based upon preclinical synergy in murine models, we carried out a phase I trial to determine the maximum tolerated dose (MTD), toxicities, pharmacokinetics, and biomarkers of response for the combination of BKM120, a PI3K inhibitor, and olaparib, a PARP inhibitor. Patients and methods Olaparib was administered twice daily (tablet formulation) and BKM120 daily on a 28-day cycle, both orally. A 3 + 3 dose-escalation design was employed with the primary objective of defining the combination MTD, and secondary objectives were to define toxicities, activity, and pharmacokinetic profiles. Eligibility included recurrent breast (BC) or ovarian cancer (OC); dose-expansion cohorts at the MTD were enrolled for each cancer. Results In total, 69 of 70 patients enrolled received study treatment; one patient never received study treatment because of ineligibility. Twenty-four patients had BC; 46 patients had OC. Thirty-five patients had a germlineBRCA mutation (gBRCAm). Two DLTs (grade 3 transaminitis and hyperglycemia) were observed at DL0 (BKM120 60 mg/olaparib and 100 mg b.i.d.). The MTD was determined to be BKM120 50 mg q.d. and olaparib 300 mg b.i.d. (DL8). Additional DLTs included grade 3 depression and transaminitis, occurring early in cycle 2 (DL7). Anticancer activity was observed in BC and OC and in gBRCAm and gBRCA wild-type (gBRCAwt) patients. Conclusions BKM120 and olaparib can be co-administered, but the combination requires attenuation of the BKM120 dose. Clinical benefit was observed in both gBRCAm and gBRCAwt pts. Randomized phase II studies will be needed to further define the efficacy of PI3K/PARP-inhibitor combinations as compared with a PARP inhibitor alone.
Impact of complex aquifer geometry on groundwater storage in high elevation meadows of the Sierra Nevada Mountains, CA

Recent research has indicated that Sierra Nevada meadows are hydrologically more complex than previously considered. Improved understanding of the effects of aquifer parameters and climate change on water resources in and downstream of meadows is critically needed to effectively manage mountain meadows for ecosystem services and watershed contributions. This research investigates the roles of bedrock geometry, saturated hydraulic conductivity, and meadow gradient in affecting groundwater storage dynamics and surface-water outflows in site-scale high elevation meadows. Under current and projected lower snowpack conditions, we modeled groundwater flow in representative high elevation meadows considering two conceptual aquifer thickness models: uniform and variable thickness. Spatially variable aquifer thicknesses interpreted from bedrock depths (0-28 m) were identified from a high-resolution ground-penetrating radar survey conducted at Tuolumne Meadows, CA. Our interpreted bedrock surface indicated several buried U-shaped valleys including a buried ridge that separates two U-shaped valleys. Groundwater flow simulations show that an increase in meadow gradient and hydraulic conductivity led to a decrease in seasonal storage and an increase in surface-water outflow. However, models with varying bedrock geometries change the magnitude and timing of these processes. Uniform thickness models overestimated storage at the model edges and resulted in higher projected volumes of water being released to streams earlier than previously observed.
Plate Water Absorption as an Assessment Tool for Organic Binders

ABSTRACTPlate water absorption has been traditionally used to assess the binding ability of bentonite clay binders for iron ore concentrate pelletization. Until 1997, there was an accepted test by ASTM, but due to inconstant data this method was withdrawn. This value, however, is still used by some pelletization operations to gauge the efficacy of their bentonite. This test procedure has only been investigated on inorganic binders and never organic binders. This paper seeks to confidently prove that PWA can be used to accurately determine the efficacy of starch binders both alone and in conjunction with bentonite. The role of bentonite as a binder for iron ore concentrate is not only to hold agglomerates together during high temperature operations. But during pelletization it can also mitigate many times its own weight in water. This water absorption capacity aids in retarding the growth rate of pellets, as faster growing pellets tend to be weaker. The value of this water absorption, known as plate water ...
Abstract 97: Association between Non-Stenosing Carotid Artery Plaque and Acute Ischemic Stroke

Introduction: It is unknown whether stroke risk is increased in the setting of large-artery atherosclerotic plaque that does not cause significant luminal stenosis. Hypothesis: We hypothesized that...
Effect of Welfare and Economic Performance on Good Governance Outcomes in Pakistan

Abstract. The paper undertakes a detailed analysis of economic progress and welfare measures in determining good governance outcomes in Pakistan. There is evidence that inequality stifles the capacity of political, economic and social governance by creating an elite class that protect their economic and political interests and undertake legislation primarily to the benefit of ruling elites. Furthermore our results also suggest that economic development empower the economically and socially excluded groups of the society and give them more voice in favor of policies that are representative of the issues like accountability against corruption or favoritism. Keywords. Governance, Welfare, Economic development. JEL. D60, D61, D63.
Abstract 3198: Procedural Outcomes in Mechanical Thrombectomy for Acute Stroke: Atrial Fibrillation Predicts Single Device Therapy

Background Timely and efficient reperfusion is associated with better outcome from acute cerebral ischemia. The predictors of procedural success in patients treated with multimodal mechanical devic...
Impact of endogenous progesterone on reactivity to yohimbine and cocaine cues in cocaine-dependent women.

Abstract Background and objective Data from clinical and preclinical models of relapse suggest that progesterone attenuates cocaine-seeking behavior. In a recent study, we found that cocaine-dependent women reported greater subjective responses to cues that were preceded by a stressor than cocaine-dependent men. The objective of this study was to examine the impact of endogenous progesterone on the subjective and endocrine responses to a drug-paired cue that was preceded by a stressor in cocaine-dependent women. Methods Cocaine-dependent women with low ( Results The anxiety response to the cue was differentially modified by progesterone levels under the two administration conditions (condition × progesterone level interaction, F 1,23 = 9.8, p = 0.005). Progesterone levels also modified the craving response to the cue differently under the placebo condition as compared to the yohimbine condition (condition × progesterone level interaction, F 1,23 = 13.9, p = 0.001). In both cases, high progesterone levels attenuated craving and anxiety response to the cue following yohimbine administration. There was no effect of progesterone levels on salivary cortisol or dehydroepiandrosterone under the placebo condition or under the yohimbine condition. Conclusions These preliminary data suggest that high levels of endogenous progesterone attenuate subjective responses to drug-cues that are preceded by a stressor. Importantly, these data support a growing literature demonstrating the protective effects of progesterone on the vulnerability to cocaine relapse in women.
Do Residency Selection Factors Predict Radiology Resident Performance

Rationale and Objectives The purpose of our study is to determine what information in medical student residency applications predicts radiology residency success as defined by objective clinical performance data. Materials and Methods We performed a retrospective cohort study of residents who entered our institution's residency program through the National Resident Matching Program as postgraduate year 2 residents and completed the program over the past 2 years. Medical school grades, selection to Alpha Omega Alpha (AOA) Honor Society, United States Medical Licensing Examination (USMLE) scores, publication in peer-reviewed journals, and whether the applicant was from a peer institution were the variables examined. Clinical performance was determined by calculating each resident's cumulative major discordance rate for on-call cases the resident read and gave a preliminary interpretation. A major discordance was defined as a difference between the preliminary resident and the final attending interpretations that could immediately impact the care of the patient. A multivariate logistic regression was performed to determine significant variables. Results Twenty-seven residents provided preliminary reports on call for 67,145 studies. The mean major discordance rate was 1.08% (range 0.34%–2.54%). Higher USMLE Step 1 scores, publication before residency, and election to AOA Honor Society were all statistically significant predictors of lower major discordance rates (P values 0.01, 0.01, and Conclusions Overall resident performance was excellent. There are predictors that help select the better performing residents, namely higher USMLE Step 1 scores, one to two publications during medical school, and election to AOA in the junior year of medical school.
Evolution of Topical Therapy in the Treatment of Psoriasis: A Review:

Major developments in topical therapy for psoriasis have taken place since 1500 B.C. Older methods such as coal tar and anthralin therapy are effective but less popular given difficulty of use. Topical steroids were a revolutionary development for psoriasis. However, they are limited in use due to local and systemic side effects. Non-steroidal topical agents are less efficacious than super-potent topical steroids but have a more favorable side effect profile. Combination medications, such as betamethasone/calcipotriene agents, allow the agents to act synergistically for psoriasis management, while maintaining a safe side effect profile. We recommend a sequential strategy when using a newer combination agent to maximize efficacy and safety, and increase patient compliance.
Stability under Constrained Switching

We begin this chapter by describing a useful tool for proving stability of switched systems, which relies on multiple Lyapunov functions usually one or more for each of the individual subsystems being switched.
Using student performance data for improving individualized instructional units

The improvement of the educational process is an ongoing activity. The examples presented have shown the data upon which revisions of PLAN modules were made and have shown student performance results on the revised materials.
Erik Gunnar Asplund: Landscapes and Buildings

Taking an interdisciplinary approach, weaving together art, philosophy, history, and literature, this book investigates the landscapes and buildings of Swedish architect Erik Gunnar Asplund. Through critical essays and beautiful illustrations focusing on four projects, the Woodland Cemetery, the Stockholm Public Library, the Stockholm Exhibition and Asplund’s own house at Stennas, it addresses the topic of buildings accompanied by landscapes. It proposes that themes related to landscape are central to Asplund’s distinctive work, with these particular sites forming a collection that documents an evolution in his design thinking from 1915 to 1940. The architect himself wrote comparatively little about his design intentions. However, through close reading and analysis of the selected projects as landscapes with architecture, author Malcolm Woollen argues that reflections of the history of Swedish landscape architecture and the intellectual climate in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries are evident in his work and help to explain the architect’s intentions. This book is a must-have for academics, advanced students and researchers in landscape architecture and design who are interested in Nordic Classicism and the works of Erik Gunnar Asplund.
Mobility Anisotropy in Black Phosphorus MOSFETs With HfO 2 Gate Dielectrics

Precise measurements of the mobility anisotropy along high-symmetry crystal axes in black phosphorus (BP) MOSFETs are reported. Locally back-gated BP MOSFETs with 13-nm HfO2 dielectric and channel length ranging from 0.3 to 0.7 $\mu \text{m}$ are fabricated. A single BP flake of a uniform thickness is exfoliated and etched along armchair (AC) and zigzag (ZZ) crystal axes, and the orientations are confirmed using optical and transmission electron microscopy analyses. The hole and electron mobilities along each direction are extracted using the transfer length method. The AC-to-ZZ hole mobility ratio is found to increase from 1.4 (1.5) to 2.0 (2.9) as the sheet concentration increased from $5.1\times 10^{\textsf {11}}$ to $1.9\times 10^{\textsf {12}}$ cm−2 at room temperature (77 K). The room-temperature electron mobility anisotropy is found to be similar to that for holes with an AC-to-ZZ mobility ratio increasing from 1.4 to 2.1 from $5.1\times 10^{\textsf {11}}$ to $1.9\times 10^{\textsf {12}}$ cm−2 though electrons showed only a very weak temperature dependence. A Boltzmann transport model is used to explain the concentration- and temperature-dependent mobility anisotropies which can be well described using a charge center scattering model.
Predictions of Genetic Circuit Behaviors Based on Modular Composition in Transiently Transfected Mammalian Cells

Transient transfection of cells can be highly stochastic, resulting in large variations in plasmid counts across a population. The resulting dynamics of the cells can then also be highly variable, so predicting the behaviors of transfected circuits can be a major challenge. In this work, we provide a precise definition of genetic modules, from which we then develop a method of composition that allows model-based design of circuits in transiently transfected mammalian cells. For validation, we apply our method to cascades consisting of two regulatory switches. Predictions of the mathematical models compare well with the experimental data. Our findings suggest reducing batch effects and selecting a proper model both contribute to improving model predictions.
AN OPTIMIZATION PROBLEM FOR AN nth ORDER SCALAR NEUTRAL FUNCTIONAL DIFFERENTIAL EQUATION WITH FUNCTIONAL SIDE CONDITIONS

Publisher Summary This chapter provides an overview of an optimization problem for an nth order scalar neutral functional differential equation with functional side conditions. It presents the study of optimization problems of this type. However, when the results are specialized to the present problem, the maximum principle may be degenerate, whereas the results which assure a normal variational problem require assumptions that are not satisfied when L(x, u) = 0, is converted to a first order n-dimensional system. If the optimal control turns out to be sufficiently smooth, so that appropriate derivatives for λ exist, then one can show that the necessary conditions of the theorem agree and in this case the sufficiency theory obtained there can be applied.
Institutional Industry Herding in China

This paper examines the effect of institutional herding on future stock returns in China A-share market at both the market and industry level from 2003 to 2012. Using a unique institutional holding...
'Courts Have Twisted Themselves into Knots': US Copyright Protection for Applied Art

In copyright law, the marriage of beauty and utility often proves fraught. Domestic and international law makers have struggled to determine whether, and to what extent, copyright should cover works that are both artistic and functional. The U.S. Copyright Act protects a work of applied art "only if, and only to the extent that, its design incorporates pictorial, graphic, or sculptural features that can be identified separately from, and are capable of existing independently of, the utilitarian aspects of the article." While the policy goal to separate the aesthetic from the functional is clear, courts' application of the statutory "separability" standard has become so complex and incoherent that the U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to hear an appeal from a case in which the appellate court, echoing sister Circuits, expressed the lament quoted in the title of this article. The article will review the genesis and application of the statutory standard, with illustrations from several of the cases, and will offer two conclusions and a legislative proposal. First, the controversy before the Court does not concern the "design of a useful article," and therefore does not require the Court to resolve the meaning of "separability." The controversy nonetheless reveals the importance of ascertaining whether the contested design is in fact the design of a "useful article." A pre-existing pictorial, graphic or sculptural work applied to a useful article is not itself a useful article, and courts need not "twist themselves into knots" endeavoring to parse the meaning of the statutory separability standard. Were the Supreme Court to decline to reach separability on the ground that resolution of the Varsity Brands dispute does not in fact require it, some might be disappointed that the Court would fail to tidy the disarray in the lower courts. But the predicate issue – what is the design of a "useful article" – also warrants more attention than lower courts have given it. Thus, were the Court to leave separability to a case that in fact poses that issue, the Court would still contribute to clarifying this area of copyright law.Second, the statutory requirements of separate identifiability and independent existence apply to "features" of the design, not to the entire shape of a useful article; attempts (including those ventured by this article) to extend separability analysis to the useful article's form as a whole prove unworkable. Accordingly, rather than continuing to struggle with an intractable statutory copyrightability standard, this article proposes the enlargement of Title 17's sui generis design protection regime to cover original designs of most useful articles.
Website Defacer Classification: A Finite Mixture Model Approach:

Hackers often engage in website defacement early in their criminal careers to establish a reputation. Some hackers become increasingly prolific and launch a large number of attacks against their ta...
Evaluating the feasibility of geothermal deep direct-use in the United States

Abstract This paper investigates the techno-economic feasibility of geothermal deep direct-use for heating, cooling, and thermal energy storage in the United States. The six 2017–2019 deep direct-use projects funded by the U.S. Department of Energy are reviewed and evaluated using the simulation tool GEOPHIRES, and results are compared with prior studies, existing geothermal district heating systems in Europe and the United States, as well as non-geothermal centralized and non-centralized heating, cooling, and thermal energy storage systems. Analysis indicates that deep direct-use feasibility varies widely, depending on subsurface characteristics, system design, and financial conditions. Project base case levelized cost of heat values ranged between $13 and $350/MWh; key drivers lowering the levelized cost of heat include higher reservoir temperatures, shallower reservoir depths, higher well flow rates, higher utilization rates, lower drilling costs, and lower discount rates. Incentives such as grants and an investment tax credit resulted in small improvements in project economics. Base case levelized cost of heat values for four projects fell within the range of levelized cost values for existing systems in Europe and the United States, and were comparable to values found in previous studies, including the 2019 GeoVision study. The lowest-cost projects for district heating had comparable levelized cost of heat values to existing fossil-fuel-driven district heating systems, and lower values than decentralized heating with natural gas boilers or heat pumps. Chilled water production with absorption chillers driven by a high-quality geothermal resource obtained attractive levelized cost of cooling values, in line with values from typical centralized cooling production facilities and lower than domestic decentralized cooling with air-conditioning units. Also, thermal energy storage is a potential deep direct-use application, where levelized cost of storage values can be obtained that are comparable to those of other thermal storage techniques such as borehole thermal energy storage and hot water storage tanks. Other aspects of deep direct-use, which are not captured in a standard levelized cost of energy metric, include the ability to decarbonize the heating and cooling supply, and provide reliability and resiliency to the energy infrastructure. These attributes are gaining increased attention and improve overall project feasibility. Finally, this paper identifies technical, market, policy, and social barriers for deep direct-use development in the United States, and provides potential approaches for reducing these barriers.
Intra-osseous sclerosing epithelioid fibrosarcoma of the mandible: A case report and review of the literature

Abstract We report a rare case of sclerosing epithelioid fibrosarcoma (SEF) arising in the anterior mandible of a 49-year-old male confirmed by the detection of an EWSR1-CREB3L3 fusion gene. SEF of the oral cavity is rare. To our knowledge this case marks the twelfth reported case to date. Our report and review of the literature highlights the molecular, immunophenotypic, and unique clinicopathological features of SEF in the oral cavity, specifically, its predilection for the jaw bones. Although SEF is usually a malignancy of soft tissue, nine (75%) of the reported oral cavity cases have occurred as a primary jaw neoplasm. The mandible represents the most common location with seven cases, while two occurred in the maxilla. These findings suggest a propensity for bone involvement in the oral cavity, which may be a feature unique to this site.
Palisading granulomatous dermatitis and panniculitis (palisading granuloma) of dogs

Palisading granulomatous dermatitis and panniculitis is recognized in various cutaneous inflammatory lesions secondary to presumed collagen damage. Cutaneous nodules with a palisading arrangement of histiocytes surrounding foci of collagen degeneration have been clinically termed palisading granuloma in dogs. Study aims were to characterize the cellular infiltrate of canine palisading granuloma and document salient clinical features. Inclusion criteria were met for 36 dogs and encompassed nodular dermal and subcutaneous histiocyte-predominant cellular infiltrates targeting and enveloping collagen fibers/necrotic foci with palisading configurations. Infectious causes were ruled out via standard histochemical stains and/or clinical data. Medical records were reviewed for signalment, clinical features, treatment, outcome, and comorbidities. Immunohistochemistry (IBA1, CD204, E-cadherin) and Masson's trichrome stain were used to assess histiocytic populations and dermal collagen, respectively. The histiocytes had moderate or strong immunolabeling for IBA1 and CD204 in 36/36 dogs (100%) and mild positive immunolabeling for E-cadherin in 3/36 dogs (8%). Alteration of collagen was graded as moderate or strong in 32/36 dogs (89%) and mild in 3/36 dogs (8%). Large breeds predominated with 30/36 dogs (83%) being ≥23 kg. Focal nodules were identified in 31/36 dogs (86%). The head/face were involved in 19/36 dogs (53%) and the extremities in 18/36 dogs (50%). Lesions from the 5/36 dogs (14%) with multiple nodules contained prominent eosinophilic infiltrates. Following excision, there was no evidence of recurrence. In conclusion, palisading granulomas are a distinct, non-neoplastic, histiocyte-predominant inflammatory condition in dogs associated with altered dermal collagen and favorable prognosis.
Removing Barriers: A Confidential Opt-Out Mental Health Pilot Program for Internal Medicine Interns.

PROBLEM There are significant barriers for resident physicians seeking mental health care, including lack of time, cost, and concerns about confidentiality. The authors sought to improve access to mental health resources by addressing these barriers through the development of a confidential opt-out mental health pilot program for interns and to assess the feasibility, acceptability, and resident satisfaction with the program. APPROACH All internal medicine and internal medicine-pediatrics interns in the 2017-2018 residency class at the University of Colorado were enrolled in the confidential opt-out mental health program. Each intern was provided with an additional half-day off during their continuity clinic week, during which a mental health screening appointment at the campus health center with an in-network mental health provider was scheduled. All costs were covered by the residency program. An anonymous follow-up survey was sent to all interns to assess participation in the program and its perceived impact on their wellness. OUTCOMES Appointments were made for 80 interns: 23 (29%) attended the appointment, 45 (56%) opted out in advance, and 12 (15%) were no-shows. The total cost of the program was $940 or $11.75 per intern. Of the 41 interns who responded to the survey, 35 (85%) agreed the program should continue next year. The majority of interns felt the program positively affected their wellness regardless of whether they attended the appointment. Of the 16 interns who attended the appointment and completed the survey, 4 (25%) reported receiving additional mental health referrals or follow-up appointments. NEXT STEPS This confidential opt-out mental health pilot program for interns was feasible, relatively low cost and simple to implement, and had positive impacts on self-reported wellness. Further study of interventions that remove barriers to accessing mental health care for residents is urgently needed.
Lectures on Mathematical Aspects of Phase Transitions

In these lectures I shall discuss a number of questions relating to the phenomenon of phase transitions concentrating mainly on the mathematical aspects and emphasizing some unsolved problems.
Home Life at Down House

Annie's Box Charles Darwin, His Daughter and Human Evolution. Randal Keynes. Fourth Estate, London, 2001. 363 pp. £16.99. ISBN 1-84115-060-6. Darwin, His Daughter, and Human Evolution Charles Darwin, His Daughter and Human Evolution. Randal Keynes. Riverhead (Penguin Putnam), New York, 2002. 416 pp. $27.95. ISBN 1-57322-192-9. Emma Darwin The Inspirational Wife of a Genius. Edna Healey. Headline, London, 2001. 384 pp. £20. ISBN 0-7472-7579-3. In these accounts, Keynes and Healey offer two perspectives on Charles Darwin's family life and on how Darwin's deep attachment to his wife and children influenced his thinking on evolution.
Three Computer Codes for Safety and Stability of Large Superconducting Magnets

For analyzing the safety and stability of large superconducting magnets, three computer codes TASS, SHORTURN, and SSICC have been developed, applicable to bath-cooled magnets, bath-cooled magnets with shorted turns, and magnets with internally cooled conductors respectively. The TASS code is described, and the use of the three codes is reviewed.
Iron stores and iron absorption: effects of repeated blood donations

We assessed changes in iron stores and iron absorption after repeat blood donations using a combination of biochemical measures of iron status: ferritin, hemoglobin, and transferrin saturation. Thirty-six volunteers with a mean (+/- SD) age of 67.7 +/- 3.7 y donated an average of 15 units of blood over 3.5 y. Initial iron stores were 12.45 +/- 3.09 mg/kg for men and 12.53 +/- 3.24 mg/kg for women. Of the 20 men and 16 women who completed the study, 6 men and 10 women were taking a self-selected supplement providing approximately 20 mg Fe/d. Dietary iron intake was determined to be approximately 20 mg/d for men and approximately 18 mg/d for women. Decreases in iron stores in supplemented men were not significantly different from those in nonsupplemented men: 9.52 +/- 2.57 and 11.31 +/- 2.74 mg/kg, respectively. Nonsupplemented women showed a significantly (P < 0.05) greater decline in iron stores than did supplemented women: 13.09 +/- 2.46 and 10.60 +/- 4.15 mg/kg, respectively. Mean maximal iron absorption was approximately 4.10 mg/d for men and approximately 3.55 mg/d for women regardless of iron intake.
Quantitative Analysis of MR Brain Image Sequences by Adaptive Self-Organizing Finite Mixtures

This paper presents an adaptive structure self-organizing finite mixture network for quantification of magnetic resonance (MR) brain image sequences. We present justification for the use of standard finite normal mixture model for MR images and formulate image quantification as a distribution learning problem. The finite mixture network parameters are updated such that the relative entropy between the true and estimated distributions is minimized. The new learning scheme achieves flexible classifier boundaries by forming winner-takes-in probability splits of the data allowing the data to contribute simultaneously to multiple regions. Hence, the result is unbiased and satisfies the asymptotic optimality properties of maximum likelihood. To achieve a fully automatic quantification procedure that can adapt to different slices in the MR image sequence, we utilize an information theoretic criterion that we have introduced recently, the minimum conditional bias/variance (MCBV) criterion. MCBV allows us to determine the suitable number of mixture components to represent the characteristics of each image in the sequence. We present examples to show that the new method yields very efficient and accurate performance compared to expectation-maximization, K-means, and competitive learning procedures.
Residential Street Parking and Car Ownership

Problem, research strategy, and findings: Local governments’ minimum street-width standards may force developers to oversupply, and residents to pay excessively for, on-street parking in residential neighborhoods. Such oversupply is often presumed to both encourage car ownership and reduce housing affordability, although little useful evidence exists either way. This article examines the impact of street-parking supply on the car ownership of households with off-street parking in the New York City area. The off- and on-street parking supply for each household was measured through Google Street View and Bing Maps. The impact of on-street parking on car ownership levels was then estimated in an innovative multivariate model. The unique set-up of the case study ensures 1) the weak endogeneity between parking supply and car ownership and 2) the low correlation between off-street and on-street parking supply, two major methodological challenges of the study. Results show that free residential street parking in...
Relaxation instructions and frontalis electromyographic feedback intervention with sleep-onset insomnia

The function of the present study was to assess the relative effectiveness of frontalis electromyographic (EMG) feedback and relaxation instructions as intervention methods with sleep-onset insomnia. Twenty-four subjects tracked their sleep behavior (time required to fall asleep, hours of sleep, times awake) for 2 weeks prior to intervention, throughout intervention, and for 1 week following intervention. A 3- and 12-month follow-up was also conducted. After a 2-week preintervention self-monitoring phase, each subject received 6 biweekly sessions of relaxation instructions, frontalis electromyographic feedback, or a control prodedure. Both the EMG feedback and relaxation instructions group demonstrated significantly greater improvement than the control group but did not differ significantly from each other. There was no significant difference between the three groups in frontalis EMG before or after treatment.
THEORY OF THE ELECTRONIC SUSCEPTIBILITIES OF STOICHIOMETRIC RUTILE (TiO$sub 2$)

A theoretical analysis of the symmetry properties of crystalline rutile is made, leading to the conclusion that the isotropic solution of the local field equations for this material is correct. It is shown that this conclusion is supported by the experimentally determined isotropic nature of the magnetic susceptibility of rutile. The isotropic solution of the local field equations yields a value for the electronic polarizability of the titanium ion in rutile of ${\ensuremath{\alpha}}_{T}=2.2$ ${\mathrm{\AA{}}}^{3}$, an order of magnitude greater than the free-ion values usually assigned to the ${\mathrm{Ti}}^{4+}$ ion. This result is supported by a correlation of the ionic sizes as obtained from an electron-density map of rutile determined by x-ray analysis with the polarizabilities in a manner described previously. In addition, this conclusion is in reasonably good quantitative agreement with a theoretical prediction made previously of the effect of the crystalline potential on the cation polarizability. The results of this study give a specific example of a conclusion arrived at in an earlier work to the effect that a cation polarizability in a crystal may be many times its free-ion value. Moreover, it demonstrates the unreliability of the usually accepted additivity rule for the ionic radii.
An interlingual-based approach to reference resolution

In this paper we outline an interlingual-based procedure for resolving reference and suggest a practical approach to implementing it. We assume a two-stage language analysis system. First, a syntactic analysis of an input text results in a functional structure in which certain cases of pronominal reference are resolved. Second, the f-structure is mapped onto an interlingual representation. As part of this mapping, the reference of the various f-structure elements is resolved resulting in the addition of information to certain existing IL objects (coreference) or in the creation of new IL objects which are added to the domain of discourse (initial reference).For this effort, we adopt Text Meaning Representation for our IL and rely on the ONTOS ontology (Mahesh & Nirenburg, 1995) as a general knowledge base. Since the central barrier to developing such a system today is the incompleteness of the knowledge base, we outline a strategy starting with the implementation of a series of form-based resolution algorithms that are applied directly to the referring expressions of the input text. These are initially supplemented by a knowledge-based resolution procedure which, as the knowledge base grows and the adequacy of the f-structure and IL-representation increases, takes on more and more of the processing load.We examine the operation of the form-based algorithms on a sample Spanish text and show their limitations. We then demonstrate how an IL-based approach can be used to resolve the problematic cases of reference. This research effort is part of the CREST project at the CRL funded by DARPA.
Incentivizing the ASL-STEM forum

The ASL-STEM Forum is a web forum which allows people who know American Sign Language (ASL), to contribute signs in the fields of STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics). A key problem is increasing participation and contributions to the forum. To solve this problem, we introduced personal smart notifications, based on user profiles, which encourage users to contribute to the forum by adding new signs for STEM terms or commenting on existing signs. Since there might be a chance that a member will be familiar with the author of a topic or sign, they might be more inclined to contribute. In future work, a user study will follow to evaluate whether personal smart notifications will increase contributions to the ASL-STEM forum.
Stability of a viscoelastic rotor-disk system under dynamic axial loads

Tenant compte de l'inertie de rotation et de l'effet gyroscopique dans les equations de poutres, on deduit un systeme d'equations couplees de Mathieu Hill pour un rotor supporte
Children's size judgments when size and distance vary: is there a developmental trend to overconstancy?

Abstract A review of the experimental literature on size constancy in children shows that studies permitting unrestricted viewing in natural settings provide only limited support for the hypothesis, proposed by Wohlwill, of a developmental trend from under- to overconstancy. A study is reported in which subjects aged 8 to 18 years made magnitude estimations of height for targets whose height and distance from them varied. For distances up to 15 m, and heights from 5 to 50 cm, size constancy prevailed at all ages: The same number was assigned to a given height at every distance. If a developmental trend exists, it requires either younger subjects or greater distances to be revealed.
Fluctuations in dilute binary supercritical mixtures

Abstract The density fluctuation and the fluctuations in the number of particles of a binary mixture are expressed in terms of measurable thermodynamic quantities and the obtained equations are used in the dilute range to compare the behaviors of the CO2/naphthalene and CO2/ethane mixtures. When a small amount of naphthalene is added to the supercritical CO2, the density fluctuation and those in the number of particles exhibit sharp increases, with increasing naphthalene concentration, compared to the corresponding ideal mixture. In contrast, the fluctuations in the mixture CO2/ethane almost coincide to those of the corresponding ideal mixture. The opposite behaviors regarding the partial molar volume in dilute solutions of ethane in CO2 and CO2 in ethane, which have positive partial molar volumes for the solute, and naphthalene in CO2, which has a negative partial molar volume for the solute, are explained on the basis of general statistical thermodynamic equations. The degrees of nonideality are responsible for the different behaviors of the above mixtures.
Isocitrate dehydrogenases from fly and cockroach thoracic muscle mitochondria

Abstract NAD-and NADP-linked isocitrate dehydrogenases (ICDH) have been identified in fly and cockroach thoracic muscle mitochondria. The NAD-linked enzymes from both species have been partially purified from mitochondrial acetone powders. The fly enzyme has been studied in detail. This enzyme is very stable and can be stored in 30 per cent saturated ammonium sulphate containing 20 mM phosphate buffer at pH 7.0 for 3 weeks at room temperature without loss of activity. Mg++ and Mn++ stimulate activity optimally at concentrations equivalent to substrate concentration. ADP stimulates activity optimally at 2 mM in conjunction with NAD+ (4mM), isocitrate (6 mM), and Mg++ (6 mM). Other properties of the enzyme are also described, and a discussion is included.
Phospholipid utilization in the diabetic dog.

Summary and ConclusionsPhospholipid tagged with radioactive phosphorus- was injected intravenously into normal and diabetic dogs. From the rate of disappearance of the tagged phospholipid from the blood stream and the plasma lipid phosphorus level, the rate of utilization of phospholipid was calculated. It was observed in both normal and diabetic groups that the rate of utilization was roughly proportional to the plasma lipid phosphorus concentration. The absolute utilization of plasma phospholipid was slightly lower in the diabetic group, but the proportion of plasma phospholipid utilized per hour was significantly higher in this group. Administration of insulin and sugar to diabetic dogs caused no significant change. Administration of raw pancreas to diabetic dogs increased the absolute utilization very markedly and the proportion utilized per hour only slightly.
Carr's randomization for American options in regime‐switching models

In the paper, we solve the pricing problem for American put-like options in Markov-modulated Levy models. The early exercise boundaries and prices are calculated using a generalization of Carr's randomization for regime-switching models. An efficient iteration pricing procedure is developed. The computational time is of order m2, where m is the number of states, and of order m, if the parallel computations are allowed. The payoffs, riskless rates and class of Levy processes may depend on a state. Special cases are stochastic volatility models and models with stochastic interest rate; both must be modelled as finite-state Markov chains. (© 2008 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)