cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Gender and quality of life in myasthenia gravis patients from the myasthenia gravis foundation of America registry

Introduction Quality of life (QOL) has been poorly characterized among patients with myasthenia gravis (MG) other than assessments performed within the clinical setting. Methods Patients age ≥ 18 years who were diagnosed with MG and registered with the MG patient registry between July 1, 2013, and June 30, 2016, were included. Demographic information, disease related history, and QOL were compared between men and women using multivariable analysis. Results A total of 1,315 subjects (827 women) were included. Women were significantly younger, had a younger age at symptom onset, and were more likely to have thymoma and thymectomy. The 15-item Myasthenia Gravis Quality of Life scale (MG-QOL15) was significantly worse in women. MG-QOL15 score was comparable between women who had thymectomy and men with or without thymectomy. Discussion QOL among MG patients is worse in women compared with men, but this disparity is eliminated in women who have undergone thymectomy. Muscle Nerve, 2018.
Source of Hydrogen Peroxide and of Chemiluminescence Observed in Activated Human Platelet Preparations

Human platelet suspensions can be observed to produce small amounts of H2O2 (0.04 nmoles H2O2/min/2.5 X 10(5) cells/cu mm) and measurable chemiluminescence when exposed to target particles for phagocytosis, such as latex spherules. Both H2O2 production and chemiluminescence are characteristic of phagocytosing polymorphonuclear leukocytes (PMN) and analysis of the purified platelets indicates contamination by PMN at the level of 0.2%. The amount of H2O2 produced and the chemiluminescence observed can be duplicated by adding latex spheres to a preparation of PMN at a concentration equivalent to the contaminant in the platelet preparations. We conclude that the H2O2 produced and chemiluminescence observed from activated platelets is due to the presence of small amounts of contaminating PMN. These studies emphasize the importance of controlling for PMN contamination in studies of platelet biochemistry and physiology.
Advantages of the Vertical Farm

The history of how we became an agrarian society and of farming’s increasingly destructive force on the world’s functional ecosystems provides convincing proof that soil-based farming is not working and probably never did. Over 12,000 years of continuous human activity of working the land is a long time to prove or disprove something, but such has been the case for in-soil cultivation. By failure, I mean that without irrigation, agrochemicals, and modern farm machinery, raising crops for human consumption could not go on indefinitely in the same place. It is simply not an ecological option. Selectively breeding a set of domesticated plants with high-yielding reproductive structures but with no ability to survive on their own is bound to place extraordinary demands on any soil, even nutrient-rich volcanic deposits. By contrast, monocultures are quite rare in nature, with some stands of trees and wide swaths of tall grass prairies being the primary exceptions. Even here, thought, there is ample diversity of both other plant species, vertebrates of many kinds, and a myriad of invertebrates and microbes living on and in the soil. Biodiversity means there is competition among all the assemblages of plants and animals for resources. It also means that there is effective recycling of nutrients at all four trophic levels. For that reason, competition on farmland, if allowed to go unchecked (i.e., sans fertilizers, pesticides, and herbicides), would greatly reduce yields. Sharing resources with the rest of the wildlife is not an option for commercial farming, no matter how “ecological” the farmer claims to be. Therefore, the sole purpose of agrochemicals is to reduce, or, better yet, completely eliminate the competition, favoring the crop of choice, by killing off the insects and unwanted weeds. It should also be noted that over the past 50 years of implementing this two-pronged chemical strategy, numerous weed-like plants have become more and more resistant to herbicides, while the insect pests have become almost totally resistant to a wide variety of pesticides. It is natural selection at work, no matter how clever we get in the laboratory.
Total anomalous pulmonary venous connection: persistence and atresia of the common pulmonary vein.

A unique patient with subdiaphragmatic total anomalous pulmonary venous connection (TAPVC) in whom individual pulmonary veins drain into a myocardium-encircled saccular confluence, which may represent a persistent and atretic common pulmonary vein (CPV), is presented.
A conceptual framework of sport participation and women’s empowerment

Sport has the capacity to generate personal change for girls or women. It could be a place where women become empowered and overcome many of the areas of inequitable perceptions or treatment that i...
The moderating effect of gender on the relationship between bullying victimization and adolescents' self-rated health: An exploratory study using the Fragile Families and Wellbeing Study

Abstract Purpose Bullying is a prominent public health concern that affects adolescents' mental and behavioral outcomes. Little is known about the effects of bullying victimization on adolescents' self-rated health. This study explores the relationship between bullying victimization and adolescents' self-rated health. Method Using the most recent wave (Year 15 follow-up, Wave 5) of the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study (FFCWS), this study uses the responses from the now 15-year-old adolescents (n = 3444, 74%) and 3580 primary caregivers (77%). Multinomial logistic regression analysis was used to explore the relationship between bullying victimization and adolescents' self-rated health as well as the moderating role of gender. Subgroup analysis also explores the differential effects of relational victimization versus physical aggression on adolescents' self-rated health. Results Accounting for social contextual and controlling variables, bullying victimization was negatively associated with adolescents' self-rated health. Gender moderated the relationship between bullying victimization and self-rated health with the relationship significantly greater among male adolescents than girls. Subgroup analyses indicated the harmful linkage between bullying victimization and self-rated health only exist among those who experienced relational victimization but not those who experienced physical aggression. Conclusions Implications call for teachers, school mental health providers, school nurses and other school-based professionals to be aware of the gender disparity among adolescents experiencing bullying. In addition, practitioners need to be mindful of the differential effect of relational victimization versus physical aggression while working with adolescents experiencing bullying.
Arrays of Si Field Emitter Individually Regulated by Si Nanowires High Breakdown Voltages and Enhanced Performance

We fabricate Si field emitter arrays (FEAs) with integrated Si nanowire current limiters and investigate a method to enable higher voltage operation, which can potentially increase achievable current densities. In this work, we focus on the dielectric breakdown occurring in the vicinity of the nanopillar. A deeper etch is shown to increase the breakdown voltage but at the expense of poorer field emission characteristics possibly due to the loss of mechanical support or increased surface states.
Abstract WMP16: Artificial Intelligence Detection of Cerebrovascular Large Vessel Occlusion - Nine Month, 650 Patient Evaluation of the Diagnostic Accuracy and Performance of the Viz.ai LVO Algorithm

Introduction: Prompt and accurate identification of Large Vessel Occlusion (LVO) for Acute Ischemic Stroke (AIS) by CTA is essential for optimal endovascular reperfusion therapy. The Viz.ai algorit...
Leisure and Obligation: An Investigation of Volunteer Tourists' Experience at Kenya's Taita Discovery Center

This research used qualitative methods to examine the relationship between leisure and obligation among volunteer tourists on holiday at Kenya's Taita Discovery Center (TDC). At TDC, volunteer tourists spend their days participating in either a wildlife conservation program or a community development program. These programs are largely dependent on volunteer support. As a result, each volunteer interviewed described feeling a strong sense of obligation. Nevertheless, volunteers described their experience as leisure rather than work. Analysis revealed six characteristics of obligation which, in this case, made it agreeable to leisure. These characteristics are illustrated with quotes from the data and a brief discussion that follows.
Reliability of the Clinical SBIRT Proficiency Checklist for Medical Students.

The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Agency (SAMHSA) recognizes Screening, Brief Intervention, and Referral to Treatment (SBIRT) as a comprehensive approach to identify individuals with or at risk of developing substance use disorders. Few studies have explored tools for assessing medical student SBIRT competencies. First-year medical students trained in SBIRT and Motivational Interviewing completed an Objective Structured Clinical Encounter (OSCE) with a standardized patient who presented with substance use. Six trained members of our research team reviewed 118 OSCE videos utilizing the Clinical SBIRT Proficiency Checklist (CSPC); additionally 30% (n = 37) were randomly selected for pair-review to examine interrater reliability. Interrater reliability was Cohen’s kappa of 0.89 for the presence of SBIRT skills and 0.39 agreement for the absence of skills. Across the videos, the most commonly observed skill was screening for alcohol use (75.4%, 95%CI 66.5, 84.3), while organizing referral for treatment was infrequently observed (36.4%, 95% CI 22.0, 50.8). The CSPC is a reliable tool for assessing medical student SBIRT skills on an OSCE. These findings provide insights on medical student SBIRT knowledge and provides a practical tool for providing early clinically relevant feedback on these skills.
Computational Fluid Dynamics Modeling and Control of Phthalic Anhydride Synthesis in a Fixed-Bed Catalytic Reactor

This work focuses on computational fluid dynamics (CFD) modeling and control of a phthalic anhydride (PA) synthesis in a fixed-bed catalytic reactor. Specifically, a CFD model of a two-dimensional in space fixed-bed catalytic reactor is first developed in ANSYS Fluent with appropriate geometry characteristics and catalyst packing. Subsequently, to regulate the product yield of phthalic anhydride in the reactor outlet and avoid the formation of a hot-spot inside the reactor due to the exothermicity of the PA synthesis reaction, model predictive control is utilized to optimize the outer jacket temperature (manipulated variable) via a data-driven model of the reactor constructed using CFD model data. To implement MPC in real-time within the dynamic CFD simulation of the fixed-bed catalytic reactor, a user-defined function (UDF) of ANSYS Fluent is employed to invoke an MPC solver outside of the CFD modeling environment to obtain the optimized manipulated inputs. The CFD simulation results demonstrate that under MPC, the outlet concentration of phthalic anhydride can be driven to its set-point while the temperature of inner reactor fluid remains below the maximum allowable temperature.
Network effects of the neuropsychiatric 15q13.3 microdeletion on the transcriptome and epigenome in human induced neurons

Heterozygous deletions in the 15q13.3 region are associated with several neuropsychiatric disorders including autism, schizophrenia, and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. Several genes within the 15q13.3 deletion region may play a role in neuronal dysfunction, based on association studies in humans and functional studies in mice, but the intermediate molecular mechanisms remain unknown. We analyzed the genome-wide effects of the 15q13.3 microdeletion on the transcriptome and epigenome. Induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC) lines from three patients with the typical heterozygous 15q13.3 microdeletion and three sex-matched controls were generated and converted into induced neurons (iNs) using the neurogenin-2 induction method. We analyzed genome-wide gene expression using RNA-Seq, genome-wide DNA methylation using SeqCap-Epi, and genome-wide chromatin accessibility using ATAC-Seq, in both iPSCs and iNs. In both cell types, gene copy number change within the 15q13.3 microdeletion was accompanied by significantly decreased gene expression and no compensatory changes in DNA methylation or chromatin accessibility, supporting the model that haploinsufficiency of genes within the deleted region drives the disorder. Further, we observed global effects of the deletion on the transcriptome and epigenome, with the effects being cell type specific and occurring at discrete loci. Several genes and pathways associated with neuropsychiatric disorders and neuronal development were significantly altered, including Wnt signaling, ribosome biogenesis, DNA binding, and clustered protocadherins. This molecular systems analysis of a large neuropsychiatric microdeletion can also be applied to other brain relevant chromosomal aberrations to further our etiological understanding of neuropsychiatric disorders.
Using agent-based models to inform the dynamics of winter tick parasitism of moose

Abstract North American moose (Alces alces) populations along the southern extent of their range have been experiencing high levels of calf mortality in recent years. In New England, this phenomenon has been linked to extensive blood loss resulting from extreme winter tick (Dermacentor albipictus) parasitism. Moose are symbolic of the region and generate income through tourism and the auction of hunting permits; thus, successive years of greater than 50% calf mortality (epizootics) are of concern to wildlife managers and others. It is hypothesized that high localized moose density coupled with climate change are the driving forces behind moose-winter tick epizootics; however, the impact that variable combinations of these and other factors have on the occurrence and magnitude of epizootics has not been previously simulated. We, therefore, developed and implemented a spatially explicit agent-based model with two model environments, each representative of a distinct location within an ongoing field study site in northern New Hampshire that differed in the proportional availability of optimal moose habitat. Three experiments were devised to test the sensitivity of the outcome variables, calf infestation level and calf mortality, to 1) winter tick abundance, 2) winter tick aggregation, and 3) moose density, for the length of the winter tick questing period. Each experiment was conducted in both model environments. This model generated similar mortality levels to those measured in the field study under representative moose density and weather conditions. Additionally, the modeled moose agents and the radio-collared moose in the field reflect comparable habitat usage. While the infestation levels reported by calf agents are considered conservative, we believe that future versions of this model, parameterized with more accurate estimates of winter tick abundance and moose density, may be an effective tool for managing moose against winter tick parasitism.
Secure Method for De-Identifying and Anonymizing Large Panel Datasets

Government agencies, as well as private companies, may need to share private information with third party organizations for various reasons. There exist legitimate concerns about disclosing the information of individuals, sensitive details of agencies and organizations, and other private information. Consequently, information shared with external parties may be redacted to hide confidential information about individuals and companies while providing essential data required by third parties in order to perform their duties. This paper presents a method to de-identify and anonymize large-scale panel data from an organization. The method can handle a variety of data types, and it is scalable to datasets of any size. The challenge of de-identification and anonymization a large-scale and diverse dataset is to protect individual identities and retain useful data in the presence of unstructured field data and unpredictable frequency distributions. This is addressed by analyzing the dataset and applying a filtering and aggregation method. This is accompanied by a streamlined implementation and post-validation process, which ensures the security of the organization's data, and the computational efficiency of the approach when handling large-scale panel data sets.
Rheumatic disease and COVID-19.

We appreciated the letter from Monti et al , which was the first dedicated report of patients with rheumatic disease who have been diagnosed with COVID-19.1 We have also reviewed the response from Joob and Wiwanitkit,2 which unfortunately perpetuates the notion that individuals with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) or other rheumatic disease may be protected from COVID-19 infection via hydroxychloroquine use. Although the origins of this claim are not entirely clear, they may arise from the fact that rheumatic or autoimmune diseases were not initially reported among other comorbidities in the first large Chinese case …
Impact of the novel coronavirus disease on treatment adherence and sleep duration in patients with obstructive sleep apnea treated with positive airway pressure.

Study Objectives:The study objective was to examine the effect of coronavirus disease on treatment adherence and self-reported sleep duration among patients with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) treat...
The Folly of Requiring Complete Knowledge of the Criminal Law

Some hoary criminal law maxims still are sensible today. The presumption that everyone knows the full corpus of the criminal law, however, is not one of them. The larger and more complicated a subject matter becomes, whether that subject is the penal code or something else, the smaller will be the number of people who understand it. No one can know every provision in the criminal code, especially when you consider that administrative agencies can promulgate regulations that make conduct a crime. No criminal justice system worthy of that name can demand more knowledge of the penal law than what can be expected of the average person. The existence of the necessity and duress defenses proves that the criminal law accepts the reality that average individuals will break the law because they lack the fearless honesty of George Washington or self-sacrificing character of Sydney Carton. If so, the criminal law should also accept the reality that that the average person has less knowledge of the law than William Blackstone. Honesty and humility demand at least that much.
Synergistic inhibition of histone modifiers produces therapeutic effects in adult Shank3-deficient mice

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a lifelong developmental disorder characterized by social deficits and other behavioral abnormalities. Dysregulation of epigenetic processes, such as histone modifications and chromatin remodeling, have been implicated in ASD pathology, and provides a promising therapeutic target for ASD. Haploinsufficiency of the SHANK3 gene is causally linked to ASD, so adult (3-5 months old) Shank3-deficient male mice were used in this drug discovery study. We found that combined administration of the class I histone deacetylase inhibitor Romidepsin and the histone demethylase LSD1 inhibitor GSK-LSD1 persistently ameliorated the autism-like social preference deficits, while each individual drug alone was largely ineffective. Another behavioral abnormality in adult Shank3-deficient male mice, heightened aggression, was also alleviated by administration of the dual drugs. Furthermore, Romidepsin/GSK-LSD1 treatment significantly increased transcriptional levels of NMDA receptor subunits in prefrontal cortex (PFC) of adult Shank3-deficient mice, resulting in elevated synaptic expression of NMDA receptors and the restoration of NMDAR synaptic function in PFC pyramidal neurons. These results have offered a novel pharmacological intervention strategy for ASD beyond early developmental periods.
Fast Power Reconstruction for User Detection of Autonomous Grant-free Data-only Schemes

Autonomous grant-free data-only transmissions greatly simplify machine type communications, but present many challenges. One of them is the compressed sensing multiple measurement vector (MMV) problem of user detection. The sensing matrix is very underdetermined, and the amount of measurement vectors is large, which affect performance and complexity, respectively. In this paper, a fast power reconstruction (FPR) algorithm is proposed. FPR simplifies MMV to single measurement vector, and no iterations is required, which reduce the complexity. The row dimension of sensing matrix is expanded, and thus the performance is improved. The simulation results validate its good performance and ultra-low computational complexity.
Exploring Technology-Based Enhancements to Inpatient and Residential Treatment for Young Adult Women with Co-Occurring Substance Use

OBJECTIVES Young adults have the highest rates of substance use of any age group. Although men historically have higher rates of substance use disorders (SUDs) than women, research shows this gender gap is narrowing. Young adults with comorbid psychiatric disorders are at increased risk for developing a SUD. Co-occurring psychiatric disorders such as depression, anxiety, eating and post-traumatic stress disorders are more prevalent in women than men with SUDs, yet mental health treatment often does not adequately address substance use in patients receiving care for a comorbid psychiatric disorder. Tailored gender-responsive interventions for women with psychiatric disorders and co-occurring SUD have gained empirical support. Digital interventions tailored to young adult women with co-occurring disorders have the potential to overcome barriers to addressing substance use for young adult women in a psychiatric treatment setting. This study utilized a user-centered design process to better understand how technology could be used to address substance use in young adult women receiving inpatient and residential psychiatric care. Methods: Women (N = 15; age 18-25 years), recruited from five psychiatric treatment programs, engaged in a qualitative interview and completed self-report surveys on technology use and acceptability. Qualitative interviews were coded for salient themes. Results: Results showed that few participants were currently using mental health web-based applications (i.e., "apps"), but most participants expressed an interest in using apps as part of their mental health treatment. Participants identified several important topics salient to women their age including substance use and sexual assault, stigma and shame, difficulties abstaining from substance use while maintaining social relationships with peers, and negative emotions as a trigger for use. Conclusions: These data provide preliminary evidence that a digital intervention may be a feasible way to address co-occurring substance use problems in young adult women receiving care in a psychiatric setting.
The Easter Sunday Bombings and the Crisis Facing Sri Lanka's Muslims

This paper primarily examines the Easter Sunday bombing plotted and executed by a group of Sri Lankan Muslims and post-war Sri Lankan conditions among Sri Lankan Muslims, also known as Moors. The article will attempt to argue that (a) the post-war violence and organized Islamophobia among non-Muslim communities in general and the Sinhalese in particular increased fears and distrust among Sri Lankan Muslims in general; and (b) state concessions to Muslim political leaders, who supported successive Sri Lankan ruling classes from independence through the defeat of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) in 2009, have meant an isolation of the community from the other two main ethnic communities. The concessions that the Muslim community has won actively helped the Muslim community to be proactive in its religious practices and thus paved the way for exclusive social and political choices. The rise of Islamic movements and mosques in the post-1977 period galvanized Muslims. In time this isolation has been reinforced by socio-religious revival among Muslims whose ethnic identity has been constructed along the lines of the Islamic faith by Muslim elites. Despite this revival it has been clear that the Muslim community has been reluctant to use Islamic traditions and principles for peace building, which could have helped to ease tensions, brought about by the 30-year-old ethnic conflict. Finally, some pragmatic ways to ease tensions between Muslims and non-Muslims in the greater discipline of conflict resolution are explored using traditions within Islam.
Multiculturalism in Shakespeare’s Names

This study relies on a large database to show (selectively) how Shakespeare’s names range widely in terms of language and social class. By setting his plays in diverse locations, Shakespeare encourages his London audience to recognise the commonalities of human experience and to think globally and multiculturally. Shakespeare’s naming of generic references and additions of minor characters to his historical sources illustrate the inclusiveness of his artistic vision. At the same time, his many coinages (associative and descriptive) illustrate his keen interest in marginalised characters and issues of social justice.
In Persona Christi Capitis: Agency Problems When God Is the Principal

The in persona Christi Capitis doctrine of the Roman Catholic Church guarantees the validity of its sacraments, irrespective of the morality of the priest who performs them. While this protects their value as metacredence goods, it seemingly opens the door to opportunistic behavior by the clergy. To balance out its institutional incentives, the Roman Catholic Church must rigorously screen its candidates for the priesthood. Historical evidence supports the hypothesis that the development of the in persona Christi Capitis doctrine was accompanied by marginal increases in the screening of seminarians, which may have been an optimal response to changing historical circumstances. Also consistent with our hypothesis, a cross-section of contemporary Christian denominations shows a correlation between a group’s stance on sacramental theology and the strictness of its screening of candidates to religious ministry. Finally, we apply our theory to contemporary scandals concerning the Roman Catholic clergy.
A framework for addressing ethical issues in citizen science

Abstract The collaboration between laypeople and professional scientists known as “citizen science” is an important trend in research and data gathering. Citizen science offers important benefits to science and society. For example, citizens can help scientists with data collection and provide advice on research design and implementation. Citizens can also gain a better understanding of scientific concepts and methods. Additionally, citizens can help scientists better understand and address issues of concern to their families and communities. However, citizen science also raises ethical issues that should be addressed when projects begin and throughout the course of scientific investigation. To promote ethical research, scientists should develop guidelines for involvement of citizens in research, communicate effectively with participants and local communities at the outset of their involvement in research projects, carefully oversee their work, develop appropriate publication practices, and provide lay-volunteers with education and training on the responsible conduct of research. Researchers also need to be cognizant of clarifying these roles and responsibilities as well as promoting appropriate and safe citizen participation and transparency of the study methods, data analysis, and communication of results.
Capital Allocation and the Pricing of Financially Intermediated Risks: An Empirical Investigation

Under perfect market conditions, standard capital budgeting theory predicts that the discount rates on projects should reflect only non-diversifiable risk and be constant across firms. However, theoretical research by Froot and Stein (1998), among others, suggests that when firms invest in non-hedgeable assets under conditions where capital is costly, project pricing should reflect the covariability of the project with the firm's existing portfolio, even if this covariability represents non-systematic risk. They argue that their theory is especially applicable to financial institutions pricing intermediated risks. Theoretical research also suggests that the prices of intermediated risks will reflect the capital strain that such risks place on the intermediary and hence reflect implicit allocations of capital to the intermediary's business lines (Myers and Read 2001, Zanjani 2002). We test these theoretical predictions by analyzing the prices of insurance risks for U.S. property-liability insurers over the period 1997-2004. Specifically, we regress insurance price variables on capital allocations by line, measures of insurer insolvency risk, and other risk and control variables. The results provide strong support for theoretical predictions that prices of intermediated risks vary across firms to reflect insolvency risk, marginal capital allocations, and non-systematic covariability.
On the need for a system optimization laboratory

Publisher Summary This chapter discusses the need for a system optimization laboratory. At present, it becomes necessary to create several system optimization laboratories where enough critical mass would exist that representative large-scale models could be practically modeled and numerically solved. The purpose of such a laboratory would be to support the development of computational methods and associated computer routines for the numerical analysis and optimization of large-scale systems. The ultimate objective of the development effort would be to provide an integrated set of computer routines for systems optimization that (1) is freely and publicly available to users of government, science, and industry, (2) is thoroughly practical and widely useful in applications to diverse kinds of large-scale systems optimization problems, (3) embodies the most powerful techniques of mathematical programming and numerical analysis, and (4) has been thoroughly tested for efficiency and effectiveness on representative systems optimization problems arising in practice. The chapter discusses the activities of system optimization laboratory. A major activity of system optimization laboratory would be the development of software packages for systems optimization. A major goal of the systems optimization laboratory would be to provide standardized computer routines for systems optimization. Large-scale optimization requires laboratories where a large number of test models, computer programs, and special tools to aid in developing variants of existing techniques are assembled in a systematic way. Only this way can one hope to model and solve the host of pressing total system problems that the world faces today.
Evaluating a Line Source Irrigation System for Determining Water Requirements of Herbaceous Perennials

We investigated wind effects on the water distribution pattern of a line source irrigation system experimental design that creates a decreasing linear moisture gradient and the growth of twelve perennial wildflower species. Species were randomly assigned to rows perpendicular to a main line of spray irrigation heads, parallel to the decreasing irrigation rates, and irrigated at 1 10% of evapotranspiration at the heads. At low wind speed (0.44 m/s, 1.4 ft/s), application rates decreased linearly from 50 mm/hr (2 in/hr) for positions closest to the irrigation line to zero at 4 m (12 ft) from the irrigation line. Application rates at positions farthest from the irrigation line were affected by wind speeds as low as 1 m/s (3.3 ft/s). At high wind speeds (3.8 m/s, 12.5 ft/s), application rates at all positions averaged the same across all positions but with extremely high variability . We detected a water stress response in several species known to be drought sensitive. A line source irrigation design of fers a potential way to ef ficiently assess the response of a lar ge number of perennial species to varying irrigation rates by creating a linear moisture gradient, but only when applied under low wind speeds.
Relationship of Histoplasmin Agar-Gel Bands and Complement-Fixation Titers in Histoplasmosis

Wiggins, Geraldine L. (Communicable Disease Center, Atlanta, Ga.), and Joseph H. Schubert. Relationship of histoplasmin agar-gel bands and complement-fixation titers in histoplasmosis. J. Bacteriol. 89:589–596. 1965.—Culture filtrates of various strains of Histoplasma capsulatum were studied with sera from patients with histoplasmosis, by use of the agar-gel and complement-fixation tests. It was found that the filtrates represented three types: those containing H and M components, those with H only, and those with neither H nor M. The same strain of H. capsulatum often produced culture filtrates of more than one type. Complement fixation showed that only the filtrates having both the H and M components were sufficiently sensitive as diagnostic antigens to detect the antibodies in histoplasmosis. H and M fractions prepared by ion-exchange chromatography were found to produce more than one band; therefore, it was concluded that the available fractions were not pure. The formation and identification of bands were affected by the concentration of the antigen and the arrangement of the wells containing the antigen and serum. The optimal concentration of the antigen varied, depending on the position of these reagents. The method found most practical for the identification of bands in unknown sera consisted of selecting the optimal concentration of the components with a box titration, by use of antigen having both the H and M components, placing known positive sera in wells adjacent to the unknown sera, and studying the sera for lines of identity. The M band was usually closest to the antigen well, and the H was nearest the serum well. These bands could be reversed by dilution, adjusting the H antibodies so that they equalled or exceeded the M antibodies. One human serum in which the bands were reversed showed the H bands at a higher serum dilution than that obtained with the M band. Patients with culturally proven histoplasmosis had the M band in their serum regardless of the stage of disease or length of duration; only 4 of 10 patients in the active stage of histoplasmosis also had the H band. The low prevalence of the H band would eliminate it as a diagnostic tool for detecting the active stage of the disease. Other bands obtained with histoplasmin antigen in the sera from proven cases were of no assistance in determining the clinical status of the patient.
Loop Inductance vs. Partial Inductance

This chapter contains sections titled: Loop Inductance vs. Partial Inductance: Intentional Inductors vs. Nonintentional Inductors To ComputeLoop Inductance, the Return Path for the Current Must be Determined Generally, There is no Unique Return Path for all Frequencies, Thereby Complicating the Calculation of aLoop Inductance Computing theGround Bounce andPower Rail Collapse of a Digital Power Distribution System UsingLoop Inductances Where Should theLoop Inductance of the Closed Current Path be Placed When Developing a Lumped-Circuit Model of a Signal or Power Delivery Path? How Can a Lumped-Circuit Model of a Complicated System of a Large Number of Tightly Coupled Current Loops be Constructed UsingLoop Inductance? Modeling Vias on PCBs Modeling Pins in Connectors Net Self Inductance of Wires in Parallel and in Series Computation of Loop Inductances for Various Loop Shapes Final Example: Use of Loop and Partial Inductance to Solve a Problem
Diagnosis of acute kidney injury: from classic parameters to new biomarkers.

A change in serum creatinine is the standard metric used to define and monitor the progression of acute kidney injury (AKI). This marker is inadequate for a number of reasons including the fact that
Recent Developments in Stellarator Physics

Experimental and theoretical work on the stellarator concept has established its position as the best alternate concept for fusion power. Its plasma properties are comparable to, or better than, those obtained in comparable tokamak devices. Confinement and transport should be adequate for reactor operation, with high-..beta.. operation possible. Although the coil configurations in present experiments are complicated, stellarator reactors could be simpler than tokamaks. The possibilities of steady-state operation, little recirculating power, good start-up and control properties, no disruptions, modular construction, and a builtin divertor make it an obvious direction for tokamak evolution as well as a viable alternate concept in its own right.
In Vivo Assessment of Prenatal Developmental Toxicity in Rodents

This unit presents two basic protocols for testing prenatal developmental toxicity in rodents. The standard protocol for assessing prenatal developmental toxicity, often referred to as a Segment II study, describes the methods used for performing cesarean sections and examining cesarean-delivered fetuses for external, skeletal, and visceral alterations. The protocol for the Chernoff/Kavlock assay, a developmental toxicity screen, describes methods for examining parturition, and postnatal growth and viability of prenatally exposed litters. Keywords: prenatal developmental toxicity; teratology; pregnancy; Segment II; Chernoff/Kavlock assay
A Selective Optical Sensor Based on [9]Mercuracarborand-3, a New Type of Ionophore with a Chloride Complexing Cavity

A highly selective optical sensor for chloride, based on the multidentate Lewis acid ionophore [9]mercuracarborand-3, is described herein. This sensor is constructed by embedding the mercuracarborand ionophore, a suitable pH-sensitive lipophilic dye, and lipophilic cationic sites in a plasticized polymeric membrane. The multiple complementary interactions offered by the preorganized complexing cavity of [9]mercuracarborand-3 is shown to control the anion selectivity pattern of the optical film. The film exhibits a significantly enhanced selectivity for chloride over a variety of lipophilic anions such as perchlorate, nitrate, salicylate, and thiocyanate. Furthermore, the optical selectivity coefficients obtained for chloride over other biologically relevant anions are shown to meet the selectivity requirements for the determination of chloride in physiological fluids, unlike previously reported chloride optical sensors. In addition, the optical film responds to chloride reversibly over a wide dynamic rang...
The right ventricle, outflow tract, and ventricular septum comprise a restricted expression domain within the secondary/anterior heart field

The vertebrate heart arises from the fusion of bilateral regions of anterior mesoderm to form a linear heart tube. Recent studies in mouse and chick have demonstrated that a second cardiac progenitor population, known as the anterior or secondary heart field, is progressively added to the heart at the time of cardiac looping. While it is clear that this second field contributes to the myocardium, its precise boundaries, other lineages derived from this population, and its contributions to the postnatal heart remain unclear. In this study, we used regulatory elements from the mouse mef2c gene to direct the expression of Cre recombinase exclusively in the anterior heart field and its derivatives in transgenic mice. By crossing these mice, termed mef2c-AHF-Cre, to Cre-dependent lacZ reporter mice, we generated a fate map of the embryonic, fetal, and postnatal heart. These studies show that the endothelial and myocardial components of the outflow tract, right ventricle, and ventricular septum are derivatives of mef2c-AHF-Cre expressing cells within the anterior heart field and its derivatives. These studies also show that the atria, epicardium, coronary vessels, and the majority of outflow tract smooth muscle are not derived from this anterior heart field population. Furthermore, a transgene marker specific for the anterior heart field is expressed in the common ventricular chamber in mef2c mutant mice, suggesting that the cardiac looping defect in these mice is not due to a failure in anterior heart field addition to the heart. Finally, the Cre transgenic mice described here will be a crucial tool for conditional gene inactivation exclusively in the anterior heart field and its derivatives.
Harmonization and Side Payments in Political Cooperation

For two districts or countries that try to internalize externalities, I analyze a bargaining game under private information. I derive conditions for when it is efficient with uniform policies across regions-with and without side payments-and when it is efficient to prohibit side payments in the negotiations. While policy differentiation and side payments allow the policy to better reflect local conditions, they create conflicts between the regions and, thus, delay. The results also describe when political centralization outperforms decentralized cooperation, and they provide a theoretical foundation for the controversial "uniformity assumption" traditionally used by the fiscal federalism literature.
Dual-Grid Characteristic Method for the Numerical Integration of the Three-Wire Transmission Line Equations

We have developed a method for the numerical solution of the system of hyperbolic equations that arise from the study of signal propagation on a three-wire transmission line. This method solves the characteristic form of the equations by using a distinct spatial grid for each traveling wave. The resulting computer code produces calculations that are virtually free of numerical dispersion.
Response of a 14-story Anchorage, Alaska, building in 2002 to two close earthquakes and two distant Denali fault earthquakes

Abstract The recorded responses of an Anchorage, Alaska, building during four significant earthquakes that occurred in 2002 are studied. Two earthquakes, including the 3 November 2002 M7.9 Denali fault earthquake, with epicenters approximately 275 km from the building, generated long trains of long-period (>1 s) surface waves. The other two smaller earthquakes occurred at subcrustal depths practically beneath Anchorage and produced higher frequency motions. These two pairs of earthquakes have different impacts on the response of the building. Higher modes are more pronounced in the building response during the smaller nearby events. The building responses indicate that the close-coupling of translational and torsional modes causes a significant beating effect. It is also possible that there is some resonance occurring due to the site frequency being close to the structural frequency. Identification of dynamic characteristics and behavior of buildings can provide important lessons for future earthquake-res...
Nonadditive entropy and nonextensive statistical mechanics - An overview after 20 years

Statistical mechanics constitutes one of the pillars of contemporary physics. Recognized as such — together with mechanics (classical, quantum, relativistic), electromagnetism and thermodynamics —, it is one of the mandatory theories studied at virtually all the intermediate- and advanced-level courses of physics around the world. As it normally happens with such basic scientific paradigms, it is placed at a crossroads of various other branches of knowledge. In the case of statistical mechanics, the standard theory — hereafter referred to as the Boltzmann-Gibbs (BG) statistical mechanics — exhibits highly relevant connections at a variety of microscopic, mesoscopic and macroscopic physical levels, as well as with the theory of probabilities (in particular, with the Central Limit Theorem, CLT ). In many circumstances, the ubiquitous efects of the CLT , with its Gaussian attractors (in the space of the distributions of probabilities), are present. Within this complex ongoing frame, a possible generalization of the BG theory was advanced in 1988 (C.T., J. Stat. Phys. 52, 479). The extension of the standard concepts is intended to be useful in those “pathological”, and nevertheless very frequent, cases where the basic assumptions (molecular chaos hypothesis, ergodicity) for applicability of the BG theory would be violated. Such appears to be, for instance, the case in classical long-range-interacting many-body Hamiltonian systems (at the so-called quasi-stationary state). Indeed, in such systems, the maximal Lyapunov exponent vanishes in the thermodynamic limit N! ¥. This fact creates a quite novel situation with regard to typical BG systems, which generically have a positive value for this central nonlinear dynamical quantity. This peculiarity has sensible effects at all physical micro-, meso- and macroscopic levels. It even poses deep challenges at the level of the CLT . In the present occasion, after 20 years of the 1988 proposal, we undertake here an overview of some selected successes of the approach, and of some interesting points that still remain as open questions. Various theoretical, experimental, observational and computational aspects will be addressed.
Consensus, Dissensus, and Democracy: What Is at Stake in Feminist Science Studies?

If feminists argue for the irreducibility of the social dimensions of science, then they ought to embrace the idea that feminist and non-feminist scientists are not in collaboration, but in fact defend different interests. Instead, however, contemporary feminist science studies literature argues that feminist research improves particular, existing scientific enterprises, both epistemically (truer claims) and politically (more democratic methodologies and applications). I argue that the concepts of empirical success and democracy at work in this literature from Longino (1994) and Harding (1996), to Longino (2002), Gilbert and Rader (2001), and Keller (2001) are not sufficiently critical, and fail to do justice to the truly revolutionary work done by feminist scientists. I offer the beginnings of an epistemology of dissensus (as opposed to consensus), using the work of Haraway (1978), Lyotard (1984), and Ziarek (2001). How would such an epistemology relate to feminist discussions of the possibility of democratic, responsible knowledge?
Temperature-dependent X-ray diffraction as a probe of protein structural dynamics

X-ray diffraction at four temperatures from 220 to 300 K coupled with crystallographic refinement yields the mean-square displacements and conformational potentials of all 1,261 non-hydrogen atoms of metmyoglobin. The results are interpreted to indicate a condensed core around the haem, semi-liquid regions towards the outside and a possible pathway for ligands. It is concluded that X-ray diffraction can provide the spatial distribution of the dynamic features of a protein.
BAYESIAN META-ANALYSIS AND NET CLINICAL BENEFIT OF CLOPIDOGREL AND PROTON PUMP INHIBITORS IN ADVERSE CARDIOVASCULAR AND GASTROINTESTINAL EVENTS

Recent controversy surrounding interaction between proton pump inhibitors and clopidogrel has lead to an FDA warning advising against the simultaneous use of these medications. This warning stems from studies indicating reduced antiplatelet activity in some patients taking clopidogrel. However, the
A suggested corn sweetener blend that serves as a replacement for sucrose in a basic ice cream formula

Vanilla ice cream (10% fat) was prepared by substituting two corn sweeteners (high fructose corn sweetener-90: HFCS-90, and high maltose corn sweetener: HMCS) for sucrose on a 50:50 basis at 25, 50, 75 and 100% substitution levels. Physical tests were conducted on the firmness and melting rate of the ice cream, and no significant differences (p >0.5) were found among the variations. Sensory evaluation showed that an increase in the use of corn sweetener blend caused a decline in sweetness as well as vanilla intensity with some flavour masking. The corn sweetener blend did produce a smooth texture in the ice cream when used as a 100% replacement for sucrose.