cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Fungal peritonitis in a large chronic peritoneal dialysis population: a report of 55 episodes

Fungal peritonitis (FP) is a rare but serious complication of chronic peritoneal dialysis (CPD) therapy and is associated with high morbidity and CPD drop-out. Risk factors and management of FP remain controversial. We reviewed our experience with FP in an attempt to identify risk factors and to examine outcome in relation to treatment strategies. Between March 1984 and August 1994, 704 patients were maintained on CPD therapy in our unit. A total of 1,712 episodes of peritonitis were identified among these patients. Fungal peritonitis accounted for 55 (3.2%) of these episodes. The patients on CPD therapy who developed FP were similar to those who did not develop FP with regard to age, gender, underlying etiology for end-stage renal disease, and comorbid disease. Prior antibiotic use was noted in 87.3% of episodes of FP. The peritonitis rate in the patients who developed FP was one episode every 5.1 months compared with one episode every 9.9 patient-months in the CPD patients who did not develop this infection. Candida sp caused 74.5% of the episodes of FP. All patients were treated with antifungal drugs. In 85.5% of infections the Tenckhoff catheter was removed within 1 week of the diagnosis of FP; 31.9% of the patients who had the Tenckhoff catheter removed did not have the catheter replaced because of death or transfer to hemodialysis. In the patients who developed FP, 68.1% had the Tenckhoff catheter replaced; of these patients, 90.6% and 59.4% were on CPD therapy 1 and 6 months after catheter replacement, respectively. We conclude that risk factors identified in our population include peritonitis rate and prior antibiotic use. Fungal peritonitis is rare in our CPD population, and although it leads to significant CPD drop-out, it can be managed in many patients with antifungal therapy, early catheter removal, and temporary hemodialysis. Of the catheters replaced between 2 and 8 weeks after the diagnosis of FP, 91% functioned successfully, allowing continuation of CPD.
Reduced Inhibition and Sensitivity to Neurosteroids in Hippocampus of Mice Lacking the GABAA Receptor δ Subunit

The δ subunit of the γ-aminobutyric acid (A) receptor (GABAAR) is expressed postnatally mostly in the cerebellum, thalamus, and dentate gyrus. Previous studies in mice with a targeted disruption of...
Sharpness of the phase transition in percolation models

The equality of two critical points - the percolation threshold pH and the point pτ where the cluster size distribution ceases to decay exponentially - is proven for all translation invariant independent percolation models on homogeneous d-dimensional lattices (d^ 1). The analysis is based on a pair of new nonlinear partial differential inequalities for an order parameter M(β, h\ which for h = Q reduces to the percolation density P^ - at the bond density p = l—e~β in the single parameter case. These are: (1) M^hdM/dh + M2 + βMdM/dβ, and (2) dM/dβ^\J\MdM/dh. Inequality (1) is intriguing in that its derivation provides yet another hint of a "φ3 structure" in percolation models. Moreover, through the elimination of one of its derivatives, (1) yields a pair of ordinary differential inequalities which provide information on the critical exponents β and δ. One of these resembles an Ising model inequality of Frόhlich and Sokal and yields the mean field bound (5^2, and the other implies the result of Chayes and Chayes that β^ί. An inequality identical to (2) is known for Ising models, where it provides the basis for Newman's universal relation /?((5 —1)^1 and for certain extrapolation principles, which are now made applicable also to independent percolation. These results apply to both finite and long range models, with or without orientation, and extend to periodic and weakly inhomogeneous systems.
Embedded active surfaces for volume visualization

We propose a new technique for use in the visualization of sparse, fuzzy, or noisy 3D data. This technique incorporates the methods of deformable or active models that have been developed in 2D computer vision. In this paper we generalize such models to 3D in a manner that is both practical and mathematically elegant, and we thereby avoid many of the problems associated with previous attempts to generalize deformable models. When generalizing to 3D, deformable models have several drawbacks-- including their acute sensitivity to topology, parameterization, and initial conditions--which limit their effectiveness. Many of these problems stem from the underlying parameterization of the model. This paper presents an implicit representation of deformable models. The implicit representation is an embedding of objects as level sets of grayscale functions which serve as templates. The evolution equation associated with the energy minimization process for a model has an analogous partial differential equation which governs the behavior of the corresponding grayscale template. We show that the 'active blobs' associated with the embedding of active models have several useful properties. First, they are topologically flexible. Second, grayscale images represent families of models. Third, when surfaces are embedded as grayscale images, they are described by a natural scale space. This scale space provides the ability to solve these equations in a multi-scale manner. Several 2D examples of technique are presented, as well as some visualization results from 3D ultrasound.© (1994) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.
Soviet Grain and Wheat Import Demands in 1981–85

Soviet imports of grain, including wheat, have become large in recent years. The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has estimated that the Soviet Union imported 35 million tons of grain in the consumption year ending 30 June 1981.1 These imports will continue to be large in the near future because of the Soviet decision to increase the production and consumption of meat and dairy products without slaughtering livestock in years of harvest failure.
A framework for building knowledge-bases under uncertainty

Managing uncertainty during the knowledge engineering process from elicitation to validation and verification requires a flexible, intuitive, and semantically sound knowledge representation. This is especially important since this process is typically highly interactive with the human user to add, update, and maintain knowledge. In this paper, we present a model of knowledge representation called Bayesian Knowledge-Bases (BKBs). It unifies a ‘if-then’ style rules with probability theory. We also consider the computational efficiency of reasoning over BKBs. We can show that through careful construction of the knowledge-base, reasoning is computationally tractable and can in fact be polynomial-time. BKBs are currently fielded in the PESKI intelligent system development environment.
Spontaneous potentials and fine structure of identified frog denervated neuromuscular junctions.

Abstract Morphological changes at the neuromuscular junction of the frog during nerve degeneration were correlated with the occurrence of either nerve or Schwann cell-induced miniature endplate potentials in identified edge muscle cells that were subsequently examined in the electron microscope. The initial stages of nerve deterioration produced showers of nerve-induced miniature endplate potentials but showed no apparent change in the vesicle population in nerve terminals. When the miniature endplate potentials ceased, the nerve ending appeared dense and exhibited clumped vesicles, swollen and disrupted mitochondria and membrane whorls. Nerve death was followed by movement and growth of the Schwann cell into the space previously occupied by the nerve terminal. The Schwann cell-muscle junctions were initially silent and no obvious morphological change accompanied the generation of miniature endplate potentials. Schwann cell-induced miniature endplate potentials had frequencies of 10–100/min which were comparable to the frequencies of nerve-induced miniature endplate potentials from similar sized neuromuscular junctions. Some histograms of Schwann cell-induced miniature endplate potentials showed a peak demonstrating a mean quantal size. Only a few vesicles were found in Schwann cells, including the high frequency junctions, so the morphological storage site for the production of miniature endplate potentials is not obvious. The frequencies of miniature endplate potentials evoked by Schwann cells were usually altered in the opposite direction to those evoked by nerves following various challenges, suggesting that the release mechanism for acetylcholine is quite different.
H2-mismatched transplantation with repetitive cell infusions and CD40 ligand antibody infusions without myeloablation.

Summary. Graft rejection and graft-versus-host disease are major problems in mismatched marrow transplants along with toxicity from standard myeloablative host treatments. We have established a tolerization model, using 1 Gy irradiation, which reduces stem cell capacity to < 10% of control while causing minimal myelosuppression, donor antigen pre-exposure (spleen cells), CD40-ligand antibody blockade and high levels of marrow (40 × 106 cells), which allows for stable long-term multilineage engraftment in H2-mismatched murine marrow transplants. We now show that the establishment of ‘microchimaerism’ (0·5–3·8%) sets the stage for macrochimaerism, with subsequent marrow infusions in H2-mismatched mice with CD40-ligand blockade only. Neither irradiation nor spleen cell exposure were necessary. When 40 x 106 bone marrow cells were infused on weeks 0, 12, 14 and 16, blood engraftment was about seven times the single 40 × 106 control. When marrow cells were given on weeks 0, 3, 4, 5 and 6, engraftment at 24 weeks post transplant was 17·9 ± 1·2%, compared with 2·7 ± 0·8% for the single 40 × 106 control (P = 0·009). We have shown stable, long-term multilineage chimaerism and established that the schedule of marrow administration, not the total cell dose, is critical for tolerization. This approach indicates that microchimaerism can tolerize for subsequent marrow infusions and produce macrochimaerism. This strategy could be applied in clinical human transplants.
Periovulatory time courses of circulating gonadotropic and ovarian hormones in the rhesus monkey.

Samples of peripheral blood were taken from 4 intact rhesus monkeys every 3 hr for a 72–hr period encompassing the midcycle LH surge, and assayed for LH, FSH, estradiol, estrone and progesterone. The LH and FSH peaks were essentially parallel. They were continuous, symmetrical, and monophasic, with a mean duration of approximately 50 hr. The rate of decrease in LH concentration during the descending phase of the surge did not approach the half-life of LH in the monkey, indicating that secretion was continuing during this time. A sharp rise in estradiol accompanied the initial increase in LH, resulting in a peak which preceded that of LH by 9–15 hr. Progesterone was undetectable in peripheral plasma until 15 hr after LH began to rise, reaching a small peak within 6 hr of the LH peak. Estradiol started to decrease before the decrease in progesterone, but both steroids reached nadirs approximately 24 hr after the LH peak. In a separate group of 12 animals, the earliest evidence of ovulation was obtained appr...
Measuring Children's Physical Activity and Sedentary Behaviors

The high prevalence of overweight and obesity among children necessitates the need to promote physical activity and reduce sedentary behaviors in children. Consequently, there is a need to be able to reliably and accurately measure physical activity and sedentary behaviors in children. Unfortunately, there is no one measurement tool that captures physical activity and sedentary behaviors perfectly. When choosing a measurement tool to assess physical activity and sedentary behavior, researchers and practitioners must be aware of the strengths and limitations of each measurement. To assist researchers and practitioners in choosing the appropriate measurement tool for the desired study, we overviewed the most common methods currently being used to measure physical activity and sedentary behavior in children, noting the strengths and limitations of each instrument.
Health care services in 19th century British Honduras

Abstract Information about health care services during the 1800's in British Honduras is scarce. This article documents some of the early efforts made to offer health services in British Honduras. It also cites some of the persons, events and problems which influenced the evolution of British Honduran health care during the 19th century.
Echocardiography improves detection of rejection after heterotopic mouse cardiac transplantation.

Abstract Background: Current assessments of cardiac rejection in murine transplant models rely on subjective estimates of the force of the palpable heart beat that have limited sensitivity and precision. Methods: We used 2-dimensional echocardiography to evaluate changes in left ventricular posterior wall thickness (PWT) in a heterotopic cardiac mouse transplant model of rejection. Nine allografts and 6 isografts were imaged daily for 6 days and harvested. Thirteen allografts were imaged daily and harvested at day 3. Results: Intraobserver variability on PWT was 0.003 ± 0.09 mm, interobserver variability 0.09 ± 0.11 mm. Allograft PWT increased after transplantation (0.74 ± 0.02 mm to 1.28 ± 0.05 mm at day 5, P P P Conclusion: Two-dimensional echocardiography allows the noninvasive detection and follow-up of cardiac rejection after transplantation. It eliminates the subjectivity of palpation and provides quantitative and reliable indices of rejection. (J Am Soc Echocardiogr 2002;15:1315-20.)
BASIN RICHNESS AND SOURCE ROCK DISRUPTION — A FUNDAMENTAL RELATIONSHIP?

Primary petroleum migration (expulsion from source rocks) remains the least understood parameter controlling the genesis of oil deposits. In spite of this lack of understanding, many petroleum geochemists (including this Author) have previously considered expulsion from organic-rich, mature source rocks to be very efficient. This viewpoint results from Rock-Eval analyses of organic-rich source rocks, analyses which demonstrate a loss of hydrocarbon (HC) generation capacity, by significant reduction in Rock-Eval hydrogen indices, as such rocks are progressively buried in sedimentary basins. However, this progressive loss of HC generation capacity is not matched by numerically-equivalent increases either in Soxhlet-extractable HCs or the Rock-Eval S1 pyrolysis peak. Thus, we conclude that almost all generated HCs have migrated from the source rocks.
Multivariate visual evoked response correlates of intelligence.

It was hypothesized that determination of The type and degree of the relationship between the multidimensional visual evoked response (VER) and intelligence would be enhanced using multiple VER measures. It was further assumed that any relationship found would have more empirical and conceptual utility, the more homogeneous the subject sample with respect to intellectual ability. A battery of abilities tests was administered to 98 5-yr-old children (50 girls, 48 boys: mean age. 67.16 mos; mean IQ, 119.5, SD), 9.6. VERs were recorded from three different scalp locations (left and right hemispheres and occipital midline) to three stimulus conditions (2/sec flashes. 2/sec pattern. 6/sec flashes). Seven specific factors derived from measures of the VERs (e.g. amplitude, latency. complexity, linearity) were then used as predictor variables to abilities variables in multivariate analyses. Significant multiple correlations were found between the VER variables and WPPPSI total IQ and WPPSI performance scaled score. Correlation to the WPPSI verbal scaled score was not significant. The relationship between VER and performance was further explored with canonical correlations, which were significant (R,=.50, p<.01).
An Engineering Approach to Blast-Resistant Design

The problem of blast-resistant design is approached directly by means of reasonable simplifying assumptions. The resulting design procedure avoids time-consuming and misleading analysis. The author...
Generation and Trapping of a Superelectrophilic Terminal Fluorophosphinidene Complex

Comparative DFT calculations on terminal phosphinidene complexes [MeP-Cr(CO)5] and [FP-Cr(CO)5] show a huge increase of the positive charge at P when replacing the methyl by the fluorine substituent (NBO charges +0.60 and +0.94). The electrophilic fluorination of the (3,4-dimethylphospholyl)pentacarbonylmolybdenum anion by Selectfluor gives a straightforward access to the corresponding 1-fluoro-3,4-dimethylphosphole molybdenum complex. This complex reacts as a conjugated diene with dimethyl acetylenedicarboxylate to give the corresponding 7-fluoro-7-phosphanorbornadiene complex. This bicyclic species is a precursor of [FP-Mo(CO)5] at 120 °C in xylene, as shown by trapping reactions with diphenylacetylene and 2,3-dimethylbutadiene.
Modification of delay choices in institutionalized youthful offenders through social reinforcement

Four inmates who demonstrated predominantly immediate gratification orientations served as Ss. Social reinforcement, “Good” or “Mm-hmm,” was made contingent on either delayed or immediate self-reward choices in a series of 100 choices. Per cent delay choices did vary as a function of phases of the experiment: baseline, reinforcement of delay choices, reinforcement of immediate choices, and again reinforcement of delay choices.
Force microscopy studies of fibronectin adsorption and subsequent cellular adhesion to substrates with well-defined surface chemistries.

Molecular force spectroscopy was used to study the mechanical behavior of plasma fibronectin (FN) on mica, gold, poly(ethylene glycol), and −CH3, −OH, and −COOH terminated alkanethiol self-assembled monolayers. Proteins were examined at two concentrations, one resulting in a saturated surface with multiple intermolecular interactions referred to as the aggregate state and another resulting in a semiaggregate state where the proteins were neither completely isolated nor completely aggregated. Modeling of the force−extension data using two different theories resulted in similar trends for the fitted thermodynamic parameters from which insight into the protein's binding state could be obtained. Aggregated proteins adsorbed on hydrophobic surfaces adopted more rigid conformations apparently as a result of increased surface denaturation and tighter binding while looser conformations were observed on more hydrophilic surfaces. Studies of FN in a semiaggregate state showed heterogeneity in the model's thermodyna...
Role of Neuropsychology in Evaluation of Heart Transplant Recipients

This brief report illustrates the importance of neuropsychological evaluation in the determination of eligibility for heart transplantation and in providing recommendations for treatment to facilitate postsurgical compliance.
The calcium-mediated promotion of mitotic activity in rat thymocyte populations by growth hormone, neurohormones, parathyroid hormone and prolactin.

Growth hormone, oxytocin, parathyroid hormone, prolactin and lysine vasopressin strongly stimulate mitotic activity in rat thymocyte populations maintained in vitro. These hormones have no mitotic effect on cells maintained in calcium-free medium. It is concluded that they stimulate mitosis only indirectly by sensitising the mitotically competent segment of a thymocyte population to the action of calcium. The stimulatory action of calcium itself is opposed by low concentrations of the mucopolysaccharide chondroitin sulphate. However, the inhibitory action of chondroitin sulphate can be overcome by growth hormone. A possible common mechanism of action of these hormones on mitotically competent cells is discussed.
Acute Deep Vein Thrombosis and Thrombolysis

Pulmonary embolism is a well-known and feared complication of deep venous thrombosis (DVT). Patients who present with acute DVT are treated with anticoagulation therapy whenever possible. Nonetheless, anticoagulation therapy does not actually treat DVT by dissolution of thrombus but instead prevents the propagation of the existing acute DVT. Unfortunately, a significant number of patients, particularly those with femoral or iliofemoral DVT, will develop the postthrombotic syndrome (PTS), despite receiving anticoagulation therapy. PTS is clinically manifested by leg pain, swelling, skin discoloration, and venous claudication; venous ulceration is the most severe form of PTS. The natural course of DVT is that of recanalization of the thrombosed segment, which may ultimately lead to venous insufficiency and/or reflux because of damage to the venous valves. Venous insufficiency, valvular incompetence, and reflux following DVT are known to play a major role in the development of PTS. Catheter-directed venous thrombolysis has been proposed as a means of reducing the risk of PTS, as this will actually dissolve the acute thrombus, restore venous patency, and, most importantly, restore venous valve function. This review examines the different techniques of thrombolysis and thrombectomy.
Counterpoint: Skeletal muscle mechanical efficiency does not increase with age

Aging is associated with impaired movement performance and reduce exercise capacity characterized by such physiological and mechanical changes as reduced maximal oxygen consumption (Vo2max), slower waking speed and reduced efficiency of performing mechanical work. Although it has been argued that
Communications on the theory of diffusion and reaction — IV Combined effects of internal and external diffusion in the non-isothermal case

Abstract If there is both internal and external resistance to the transfer of heat and matter to a catalytic particle some interesting combinations of effects may arise. Since multiple steady states can be obtained when only one of the resistances is considered, there is a range of parameters for which five steady states are possible in the general case. This is shown by a fairly comprehensive calculation for a first order, non-isothermal reaction in the slab. The general features of the results will carry over to particles of any shape.
Comparison of anterior cruciate ligament tunnel position and graft obliquity with transtibial and anteromedial portal femoral tunnel reaming techniques using high-resolution magnetic resonance imaging.

Purpose Using 3-dimensional high-resolution magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), we sought to compare femoral and tibial tunnel position and resultant graft obliquity with single-bundle anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) reconstruction using transtibial (TT) or anteromedial (AM) portal femoral tunnel reaming techniques. Methods Thirty patients were prospectively enrolled after primary, autogenous bone–patellar tendon–bone ACL reconstruction by 2 groups of high-volume, fellowship-trained sports medicine surgeons. With the TT technique, an external starting point was used to maximize graft obliquity and femoral footprint capture. By use of high-resolution MRI and imaging analysis software, bilateral 3-dimensional knee models were created, mirrored, and superimposed. Differences between centroids for each femoral and tibial insertion, as well as corresponding ACL/graft obliquity, were evaluated with paired t tests and 2-sided Mann-Whitney nonparametric tests, with P Results No significant differences were observed between groups in position of reconstructed femoral footprints. However, on the tibial side, AM centroids averaged 0.8 ± 1.9 mm anterior to native ACL centroids, whereas the TT group centered 5.23 ± 2.4 mm posterior to native ACL centroids ( P v 53.5° for native ACL) but was significantly more vertical (mean, 66.9°) ( P = .0001) for the TT group. Conclusions In this clinical series, AM portal femoral tunnel reaming more accurately restored native ACL anatomy than the TT technique. Although both techniques can capture the native femoral footprint with similar accuracy, the TT technique requires significantly greater posterior placement of the tibial tunnel, resulting in decreased sagittal graft obliquity. When a tibial tunnel is drilled without the need to accommodate subsequent femoral tunnel reaming, more accurate tibial tunnel position and resultant sagittal graft obliquity are achieved. Level of Evidence Level III, retrospective comparative study.
Effects of graded doses of epinephrine during asphxia-induced bradycardia in newborn lambs

Abstract To study the hemodynamic effects of graded doses of epinephrine (EPI) in a newborn animal model of hemodynamically significant bradycardia, we performed the following study. Ten newborn lambs were chronically instrumented with catheters and flow transducers so that systemic, pulmonary arterial, left atrial and right atrial pressures as well as heart rate, cardiac output and left carotid artery flow could be monitored. During each of five asphyxia induced bradycardia episodes, with cardiac output depressed to approximately 30% of baseline, lambs were given either 0, 1, 10, 50, or 100 jig of EPI in a randomized sequence. After 30 s, the lambs were resuscitated with room air ventilation while hemodynamic parameters were monitored. During asphyxia and prior to EPI administration, all hemodynamic parameters were similar. In addition, for the first 30 s following EPI administration, hemodynamic parameters continued to deteriorate in a manner that was not influenced by the dose of EPI administered. During the resuscitation period with resumption of ventilation, systemic blood pressure and coronary perfusion pressure rose higher following 50 and 100 μg/kg of EPI than after the smaller doses. Heart rate was highest following the 100 μg/kg dose. Stroke volume and cardiac output, however, appeared to be blunted by the 100 μg/kg dose of EPI with no differences in carotid flow noted by dose of EPI administered. It appears that doses of EPI greater than 10 μg/kg, the dose currently recommended by the American Heart Association, may be beneficial as an adjunct in treatment of hemodynamically significant bradycardia. However, doses as high as 100 μg/kg may blunt cardiac output and stroke volume and should be used with caution.
Boron isotopic composition of tourmaline from massive sulfide deposits and tourmalinites

Boron isotope ratios (11B/10B) have been measured on 60 tourmaline separates from over 40 massive sulfide deposits and tourmalinites from a variety of geologic and tectonic settings. The coverage of these localities is global (5 continents) and includes the giant ore bodies at Kidd Creek and Sullivan (Canada), Broken Hill (Australia), and Ducktown (USA). Overall, the tourmalines display a wide range inδ11B values from −22.8 to +18.3‰ Possible controls over the boron isotopic composition of the tourmalines include: 1) composition of the boron source, 2) regional metamorphism, 3) water/rock ratios, 4) seawater entrainment, 5) temperature of formation, and 6) secular variations in seawaterδ11B. The most significant control appears to be the composition of the boron source, particularly the nature of footwall lithologies; variations in water/ rock ratios and seawater entrainment are of secondary importance. The boron isotope values seem especially sensitive to the presence of evaporites (marine and non-marine) and carbonates in source rocks to the massive sulfide deposits and tourmalinites.
Expert Support for Problem Formulation in Urban Planning

The situations that constitute urban planning problems are extremely complex, and the formulation of these problems is usually an intractable task. As a procedurally rational response to this intra...
Effect of salicylate on membrane electromechanics

The electromechanical properties of membranes regulate many of their functions. Certain molecules can modify the physical properties of the membrane. Salicylate, the metabolite of aspirin, is a small anionic molecule capable of interacting with lipids. We previously reported that salicylate softens membranes. In this study, we explore the relationship between the membrane expansivity modulus and the electroporation threshold voltage in giant unilamellar vesicles. The threshold voltage for membrane breakdown was found to decrease with increasing salicylate concentration. We also verified that vesicle membrane rupture threshold is lower for longer pulse durations, higher applied tension, and lower expansivity modulus. Salicylate's ability to lower the electroporation threshold may have important biotechnological implications.
Regulation of the orphan nuclear receptor steroidogenic factor 1 by Sox proteins.

Steroidogenic factor 1 (SF-1) is an essential factor in endocrine proliferation and gene expression. Despite the fact that SF-1 expression is restricted to specialized cells within the endocrine system, the only identified regulatory factors of SF-1 are the ubiquitously expressed E-box proteins (upstream stimulatory factors 1 and 2). Sequence examination of the SF-1 proximal promoter revealed a conserved site of AACAAAG (Sox-BS1), which matches exactly the defined consensus Sox protein binding element. Among the approximately 20 known members of the Sox gene family, we focused on Sox3, Sox8, and Sox9, based on their coexpression with SF-1 in the embryonic testis. Indeed, all three of these Sox proteins were capable of binding the proximal Sox-BS1 within the SF-1 promoter (−110 to −104), albeit with differing affinities. Of the three Sox proteins, Sox9 exhibited high-affinity binding to the Sox-BS1 element and consistently activated SF-1 promoter-reporter constructs. Mutating the Sox-BS1 attenuated SF-1 pr...
Adenoma of anogenital mammary-like glands

Adenomas in the anogenital region are uncommon. There has been debate about the origin, including ectopic breast tissue, cutaneous apocrine gland, and most recently anogenital mammary-like gland. An anogenital mass in a 36-year-old woman was excised, and histopathologic examination and immunostaining were performed. Microscopic tissue sections showed a morphologic pattern similar to that of a mammary fibroadenoma, and immunostaining demonstrated the presence of estrogen receptors and progesterone receptors. The possibility of adenomas of anogenital mammary-like glands should be considered when evaluating patients with a mass in this area with confirmation by tissue biopsy or aspiration cytology.
Bayesian regression in SAS software

Bayesian methods have been found to have clear utility in epidemiologic analyses involving sparse-data bias or considerable background information. Easily implemented methods for conducting Bayesian analyses by data augmentation have been previously described but remain in scant use. Thus, we provide guidance on how to do these analyses with ordinary regression software. We describe in detail and provide code for the implementation of data augmentation for Bayesian and semi-Bayes regression in SAS® software, and illustrate their use in a real logistic-regression analysis. For comparison, the same model was fitted using the Markov-chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) procedure. The two methods required a similar number of steps and yielded similar results, although for the main example, data augmentation ran in about 0.5% of the time required for MCMC. We also provide online appendices with details and examples for conditional logistic, Poisson and Cox proportional-hazards regression.
Performance evaluation of market‐based resource allocation for Grid computing

SUMMARY Resource allocation is an important aspect of Grid computing. Over the past years, various systems have been developed which use market mechanisms to allocate resources. However, the performance of such policies has not been sufficiently studied. In this paper, we investigate under which circumstances market-based resource allocation by continuous double auctions and by the proportional share protocol, respectively, outperforms a conventional round-robin approach. We develop a model for clients, servers and the market, and present simulation results. Factors which are studied include the amount of load in the system, the number of resources, different degrees of resource heterogeneity, and communication delays.
Fathers have lower salivary testosterone levels than unmarried men and married non-fathers in Beijing, China

A growing body of evidence, almost entirely from North America, has found that male testosterone levels are positively associated with mating effort (male–male competition and mate-seeking behaviour), while lower testosterone levels have been associated with affiliative pair bonding and paternal care. To expand the cross-cultural scope of this research, here we investigate variation in salivary testosterone levels among Chinese men in relation to marital and parenting variables. One hundred and twenty-six men drawn from a Beijing university setting between the ages of 21 and 38 completed a questionnaire and provided both morning and late afternoon saliva samples from which testosterone levels were measured. The 66 unmarried men had slightly higher levels of testosterone than the 30 married non-fathers, but this difference was not statistically significant. However, the 30 fathers exhibited significantly lower testosterone levels than both unmarried men and married non-fathers. Among married non-fathers, marital relationship quality was not significantly related to testosterone levels. Among married fathers, men with children aged less than 4 years of age did not have lower testosterone levels than men with older children. These data are the first outside of North America to show lower testosterone levels among fathers, and lend support to the theoretical view that male testosterone levels differ according to mating and parenting effort.
The boxer, the wrestler, and the coin flip : A paradox of robust bayesian inference and belief functions

Bayesian inference requires all unknowns to be represented by probability distributions, which awkwardly implies that the probability of an event for which we are completely ignorant (e.g., that the world's greatest boxer would defeat the world's greatest wrestler) must be assigned a particular numerical value such as 1/2, as if it were known as precisely as the probability of a truly random event (e.g., a coin flip).Robust Bayes and belief functions are two methods that have been proposed to distinguish ignorance and randomness. In robust Bayes, a parameter can be restricted to a range, but without a prior distribution, yielding a range of potential posterior inferences. In belief functions (also known as the Dempster-Shafer theory), probability mass can be assigned to subsets of parameter space, so that randomness is represented by the probability distribution and uncertainty is represented by large subsets, within which the model does not attempt to assign probabilities.Through a simple example involvi...
The Role of Clostridial Toxins in the Pathogenesis of Gas Gangrene

Clostridium perfringens gas gangrene is, without a doubt, the most fulminant necrotizing infection that affects humans. In victims of traumatic injury, the infection can become well established in as little as 6-8 h, and the destruction of adjacent healthy muscle can progress several inches per hour despite appropriate antibiotic coverage. Shock and organ failure are present in 50% of patients and, among these, 40% die. Despite modern medical advances and intensive-care regimens, radical amputation remains the single best life-saving treatment. Over the past century, much has been learned about the pathogenesis of this disease, and novel therapies are on the horizon for patients with this devastating infection.
Lispath: A Program for Generating Structural Equation Path Diagrams

This brief note describes a program that can be used to display and print structural equation path diagrams. The program requires as input the model structure statements from a LISREL command file.
Fine-Grained and Scalable Approaches for Message Integrity

When we have multiple users compiling a single message, including shared contents, metadata, policy, and so on, the integrity of the contents created by individual users needs to be maintained in an effective manner. There is an urgent need for new mechanisms in a trusted content-sharing environment to support multiple signers for the same message, which can be dynamically updated with autonomous protection and maintenance mechanisms. In our previous work we identified and compared three different binding mechanisms including monolithic, autonomous, and chained binding mechanisms, using digital signatures. The original work was designed and implemented for digital certificates. In this paper we apply those schemes with extension to the organization-to-organization messaging services that require effective integrity verification and tracking mechanisms at the user-level in the receiving organization in a scalable manner with fine granularity. We implement our ideas in the Java remote method invocation (RMI) platform and discuss the trade-offs of the signature schemes based on our experimental results
Reform of the Electricity Supply Industry

Electricity markets around the world are becoming more competi tive, partly in response to technological changes. Successful restructuring requires an understanding of the sources of monopoly power in the indus try, and separation of competitive from natural monopoly elements. Com petitive wholesale electricity markets require transparent regulatory and cross-subsidy mechanisms. Such changes in turn make public ownership less relevant for protecting consumers. Competitive markets are also more risky for owners, and governments are not ideally suited to financing large and very risky business ventures. The arguments are illustrated by refe rence to the reforms undertaken in Australia in the last decade.
Synthesis of FeS2 Nano Crystals for Ink-Based Solar Cells

Although pyrite (FeS2) is abundant, getting a single-phase pyrite thin film is difficult due to the coexistence of various phases of iron and sulfur in nature. We propose an ink-based process for attaining the pyrite phase of iron sulfide. This work involves degassing Iron (II) chloride in an octadecylamine solution and later reflux with addition of sulfur in diphenyl ether at 200°C. The process yielded phase-pure single crystalline pyrite nanocrystals which were later cleaned and dispersed in chloroform for uniform suspension. Thus obtained nanocrystals were deposited as thin films using drop casting and spin coating. Solar cells were fabricated using CdS as an n-type window layer in a superstrate configuration. When tested, the superstrate type FeS2 nanoparticle cell showed 0.03% with high Voc of 565 mV.
SiGe BiCMOS Trends - Today and Tomorrow

High performance communications applications have made technology choices more important than ever. Silicon Germanium (SiGe) BiCMOS has enabled the widespread introduction of many these applications by providing superior cost and integration capability, compared to III-V solutions and, relative to RFCMOS, one can attain better time to market. BiCMOS integration approaches for high performance and cost performance NPN modules and state of the art passive elements are discussed as well as future technology directions.
MATURATION OF RECEPTOR PROTEINS IN EUKARYOTIC EXPRESSION SYSTEMS

AbstractTransient and stable expression in eukaryotic cells is commonly used to examine receptor function. Characterization of the V2 vasopressin receptor synthesized in transiently transfected cells revealed the presence of large quantities of immature protein and a small fraction of fully mature protein. The immature protein was characterized by its sensitivity to endoglycosidase H treatment, abnormal migration in SDS PAGE, and a tendency to form aggregates. Prevention of protein glycosylation by mutagenesis increased the fraction of mature protein produced, but did not eliminate the need for the maturation step. On the other hand, stably transfected cells produce almost exclusively mature receptor protein with a t1/2 of 6 h, while the immature form has a t1/2 of 20 min. In the absence of N-linked glycosylation the t1/2 of the mature V2 receptor in stably transfected cells was reduced to 4.5 h. In transient expression experiments the immature receptor proteins exhibited a prolonged t1/2 of about 8 h. Co...
A design‐oriented approach to organizational change: insights from a military case study

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate the principles supporting organizational change management.Design/methodology/approach – The paper develops a qualitative study from a single case which focuses on how the military (NATO) transformed their functionally integrated organizational form to gain additional flexibility and responsiveness.Findings – The findings indicate that the transformation of military organizations has led to reshaping and aligning communication artifacts and organizational structures. In addition, it also entailed significant adaptations of the way knowledge is divided, allocated and coordinated among units, with a particular emphasis on standardization processes.Research limitations/implications – The implications of this study for scholars and practitioners are twofold. First, it shows that the conditions for success in organizational transformation reside in the consistency of the design strategy adopted by the organization. In particular, the findings provide eviden...
Synthesis of dinuclear phosphido or arsenido bridged complexes of molydenum via reaction of secondary phosphines or arsines with [Mo(η5-C5H5)(CO)3]2: X-ray structures of {[Mo(η5-C5H5)(CO)2]2(μ-H)(μ-ER2)} (E = P, R = t-Bu; or E = As, R = Me)

Abstract Reaction of [Mo(η 5 -C 5 H 5 )(CO) 3 ] 2 with t -Bu 2 PH or Me 2 AsH yields {[Mo(η 5 -C 5 H 5 (CO) 2 ] 2 (μ-H)(μ-ER 2 )}, where E = P, R = t -Bu ( 1 ) (45%); or E = As, R = Me ( 2 ) (35%). The X-ray crystal structures of 1 and 2 have been determined. Each complex contains a central planar Mo 2 (E)(H) core and the co-ordination geometry about each Mo is best described as a “four-legged stool” in which adjacent H and P (or As) atoms are shared. The positions of the bridging hydrogen atoms are symmetrical to within experimental error.
Feedback control of a class of plasma instabilities

We consider feedback control of an important class of plasma instabilities consisting of drift waves, flutes, and trapped particle modes. For all practical purposes these are shown to be completely observable and controllable with a single pair of a sensor and suppressor. We develop detailed stabilizing feedback controllers for a multimode collisional drift wave instability in a Q -machine and for a dissipative trapped electron mode in a linear machine.
Homer Wheelon, M.D., physiologist, artist, and poet: origins of the tailpieces in journals of the American Physiological Society.

Since 1953, illustrations have been inserted as “tailpieces” at the ends of articles in The American Journal of Physiology and The Journal of Applied Physiology. The drawings were made by Homer Whe...
Salmon and alder as nitrogen sources to riparian forests in a boreal Alaskan watershed

Anadromous Pacific salmon (Oncorhynchus spp.) transport marine-derived nitrogen (MDN) to the rivers in which they spawn. Isotopic analyses of riparian vegetation in a boreal Alaskan watershed indicate that trees and shrubs near spawning streams derive ~24-26% of their foliar nitrogen (N) from salmon. Basal area growth of white spruce (Picea glauca) is enhanced at sites receiving MDN inputs. This marine N subsidy ap- pears to be less important to riparian ecosystems where symbiotic N fixation by alder (Alnus crispa) is prevalent, although salmon carcasses may nonetheless be an impor- tant source of other marine-derived nutrients affecting productivity in these forests. These findings illustrate the complexity of interactions surrounding riparian forests and the interconnectedness of river and riparian ecosys- tems.
Fabrication and testing of surface micromachined polycrystalline SiC micromotors

The authors present the fabrication and testing of surface micromachined polycrystalline silicon carbide micromotors. A new multilayer fabrication process utilizing low temperature deposition and micromolding techniques was developed to create the desired SiC structural components. Typical operating voltages of salient-pole and wobble micromotors in room air were 100 and 80 V, respectively. Wobble micromotors were tested at room temperature in atmospheres of argon, nitrogen, oxygen, and room air (25% humidity). The gear ratio as a function of applied voltage was higher for operation in room air as compared with the other gases, suggesting a relationship between gear ratio and relative humidity. In addition, micromotors were tested at elevated temperatures and exhibited stable operation up to 500/spl deg/C.
Inhibition of the Metabolism of N-Substituted Amphetamines by SKF 525-A and Related Compounds

Abstract1. During hepatic microsomal oxidative metabolism, N-substituted amphetamines form complexes with cytochrome P-450 which absorb maximally at 455 nm.2. The formation of these metabolite-cytochrome P-450 complexes is inhibited by hexobarbital and SKF 525-A related compounds.3. The formation of the 455 nm-absorbing species is inhibited both by those inhibitor compounds which are capable of forming similar complexes themselves (SKF 525-A, SKF 26754-A and Lilly 18947) and by those which do not form complexes (SKF acid, SKF alcohol and DPEA).4. High concentrations of SKF 525-A, SKF 26754-A and Lilly 18947 prevent the formation of the 455 nm-absorbing species from these substances, but this does not remove their inhibitory effects on amphetamine metabolite-cytochrome P-450 complex formation.
Deriving texture feature set for content-based retrieval of satellite image database

In this paper, the performance of similarity retrieval from satellite image databases by using different sets of spatial and transformed-based texture features is evaluated and compared. A benchmark consisting of 37 satellite image clips from various satellite instruments is devised for the experiments. We show that although the proposed feature set perform only slightly better with the Brodatz set, its performance is far superior for the satellite images. The result indicates that more than 25% of the benchmark patterns can be retrieved with more than 80% accuracy by using normalized Euclidean distance. In contrast, less than 10% of the patterns are retrieved with more than 80% accuracy by using transformed-based feature sets (such as those based on Gabor filter or quadrature mirror filter (QMF)).
Nocturia: “Do the Math”

Purpose: We reviewed the definition and etiologies of nocturia, offering the current diagnostic procedures and standards of care.Materials and Methods: We reviewed recent published literature regarding nocturia, along with current paradigms for diagnosis and management.Results: Nocturia is common as a limited occurrence but troublesome if the patient regularly experiences more than 2 episodes during sleep hours. The 4 principle etiologies associated with nocturia (nocturnal polyuria, decreased nocturnal bladder capacity, mixed polyuria, and global polyuria) may be easily differentiated through mathematical analysis of a 24-hour bladder diary.Conclusions: Nocturia is highly treatable in many patients. Identification of the precise type and its cause enable clinicians to minimize the inconvenience and sleep deprivation associated with nocturia.