cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
A 5-kg Time-Resolved Luminescence Photometer with Multiple Excitation Sources

A luminescence photometer was developed based on lanthanide-sensitized luminescence to detect environmental pollutants and residues in foods including, in particular, two classes of antibiotics: tetracyclines and fluoroquinolones. Multiple excitation sources, a xenon flashlamp and ultraviolet light-emitting diodes (UV LEDs), were used to their advantages. A photomultiplier tube module, gated to reject time-domain interferences, was used as a photodetector. Using danofloxacin as a model analyte, luminescence signal was linear in more than three decades (0.5-2000 ng/mL) with R(2) > 0.998 in each decade. This photometer achieved a limit of detection of 2.0 ng/mL with 1.3% average relative standard deviation. It is field deployable at 4.6 kg and 15 W power consumption.
Study of the structure of 36S and 38Ar

The 37Cl(d, 3He)36S and 39K(d, 3He)38 Ar reactions have been studied at a bombarding energy of 28.9 MeV. The results are compared with theoretical calculations for two or four holes in the sd-shell. The three-hole spectrum of 37Cl is also briefly discussed. In the calculation for 38Ar, additional states of a two-particle four-hole nature are included. In 38Ar, the ground state and levels at 2.166 and 7.14 MeV are excited principally by l = 2 transfer, while transitions with appreciable l = 0 strength are observed to levels at 3.935, 4.569, 5.158 and 5.563 MeV. This fragmentation is quite well reproduced by the inclusion of the 2p-4h states. In particular the level at 3.935 MeV is largely of this type, a conclusion supported by both the spectroscopic factors and γ transition rates. The 36S ground state and levels at 6.511 and 7.12 MeV in 36S have angular distributions characteristic of l = 2. Three transitions with l = 0 strength are observed to levels at 3.295, 4.523 and 4.577 MeV in this nucleus. An additional level was identified at 7.71 MeV but the l-transfer could not be determined. The data are only qualitatively reproduced by the four-hole calculation, which while useful in making probable Jπ assignments, suggests that core excitation is important here also.
Solving the Temperature Distribution Field in Nonlinear Heat Conduction Problems Using the Hopfield Neural Network

This article employs the continuous-time analog Hopfield neural network (CHNN) to compute the temperature distribution in nonlinear heat conduction problems. The relationship between the CHNN synaptic connection weights and the governing equations of the nonlinear heat conduction problems is established and a corresponding network connectivity circuit design scheme proposed. The CHNN algorithm is used to solve the heat equation for conduction problems with a power-law nonlinearity. The results confirm that the proposed CHNN scheme provides an accurate means of solving the transient temperature distributions of nonlinear heat conduction problems on a real-time basis.
Hybrid density functional theory with a specific reaction parameter: hydrogen abstraction reaction of difluoromethane by the hydroxyl radical

Accurate potential energy surfaces for the OH + CH2F2 → H2O + CHF2 reaction are constructed using hybrid and hybrid meta density functional theory methods (mPW1PW91, B1B95, and mPW1B95) with specific reaction parameters in conjunction with the 6–31 + G(d,p) basis set. The accuracy of a surface is examined by comparing the calculated rate constants with the experimental ones. The rate constants are calculated over the temperature range 200–1,500 K using variational transition state theory with multidimensional tunneling contributions. The hybrid density functional theory methods with specific-reaction-parameter Hartree-Fock exchange contributions (39.2–41.0% for mPW1PW91, 41.0–42.2% for B1B95, and 44.9–46.3% for mPW1B95, respectively) provide accurate rate constants over an extended temperature range. The classical barrier height for the hydrogen abstraction reaction on these potential energy surfaces is determined to be 5.0–5.3 kcal mol−1, and the best estimate value is 5.14 kcal mol−1.
Choice in Quail Neonates: The Origins of Generalized Matching.

Although newborns have surprised scientists with their learning skills, proficiency on concurrent schedules of reinforcement requires (in effect) the ability to integrate and compare behavior-consequence relations over time. Can very young animals obey the quantitative relation that applies to such repeated choices, the generalized matching law? The provenance of the skill is not well understood, and this study provides the first investigation of matching in neonates. Northern bobwhite (Colinus virginianus) hatchlings pecked left and right targets on a touchscreen for heat delivery on a concurrent variable-interval reinforcement schedule. Within 5 days after hatching, the chicks showed sensitivity levels significantly greater than zero, but short of typical adult levels. However, stable sequential patterns emerged almost immediately, including a consistent choose-rich tendency after unreinforced responses, one that entails some degree of temporal integration. These exploratory data suggest that the basic ability to match develops quickly in this precocial species, but that more extensive experience may be required to achieve the higher sensitivities typically seen in adults.
Fidelity of end joining in mammalian episomes and the impact of Metnase on joint processing.

Background Double Stranded Breaks (DSBs) are the most serious form of DNA damage and are repaired via homologous recombination repair (HRR) or non-homologous end joining (NHEJ). NHEJ predominates in mammalian cells at most stages of the cell cycle, and it is viewed as ‘error-prone’, although this notion has not been sufficiently challenged due to shortcomings of many current systems. Multi-copy episomes provide a large pool of genetic material where repair can be studied, as repaired plasmids can be back-cloned into bacteria and characterized for sequence alterations. Here, we used EBV-based episomes carrying 3 resistance marker genes in repair studies where a single DSB is generated with virally-encoded HO endonuclease cleaving rapidly at high efficiency for a brief time post-infection. We employed PCR and Southern blot to follow the kinetics of repair and formation of processing intermediates, and replica plating to screen for plasmids with altered joints resulting in loss of chloramphenicol resistance. Further, we employed this system to study the role of Metnase. Metnase is only found in humans and primates and is a key component of the NHEJ pathway, but its function is not fully characterized in intact cells.
SLiCE: a novel bacterial cell extract-based DNA cloning method

We describe a novel cloning method termed SLiCE (Seamless Ligation Cloning Extract) that utilizes easy to generate bacterial cell extracts to assemble multiple DNA fragments into recombinant DNA molecules in a single in vitro recombination reaction. SLiCE overcomes the sequence limitations of traditional cloning methods, facilitates seamless cloning by recombining short end homologies (≥15 bp) with or without flanking heterologous sequences and provides an effective strategy for directional subcloning of DNA fragments from Bacteria Artificial Chromosomes (BACs) or other sources. SLiCE is highly cost effective as a number of standard laboratory bacterial strains can serve as sources for SLiCE extract. In addition, the cloning efficiencies and capabilities of these strains can be greatly improved by simple genetic modifications. As an example, we modified the DH10B Escherichia coli strain to express an optimized λ prophage Red recombination system. This strain, termed PPY, facilitates SLiCE with very high efficiencies and demonstrates the versatility of the method.
Selling the Church: The English Parish in Law, Commerce, and Religion, 1350-1550

In the years of expanding state authority following the Black Death, English common law permitted the leasing of parishes by their rectors and vicars, who then pursued interests elsewhere and left the parish in the control of lay lessees. But a series of statutes enacted by Henry VIII between 1529 and 1540 effectively reduced such clerical absenteeism. Robert Palmer examines this transformation of the English parish and argues that it was an important part of the English Reformation. Palmer analyses an extensive set of data drawn from common law records to reveal a vigorous and effective effort by the laity to enforce new statutes. Motivated by both economic and traditional ideals, the litigants made the commercial activities of leaseholding and buying for resale and profit the exclusive domain of the laity and acquired the power to regulate the clergy. According to Palmer, these parish-level reformations presaged and complemented other initiatives of the crown that have long been considered central to the reign of Henry VIII.
Get real: Real Time Software Design for Safety-and Mission-Critical Systems with High Dependability

Real-time control software has been applied to a wide variety of real-world systems for diverse military, aerospace, industrial, medical, and civil applications. Most real-time systems are distributed and embedded applications, which are made up of heterogeneous components including sensors, microprocessors, and actuators. These components intensively interact with each other and with their environments. Thus, there are many dynamic and uncertain factors in these systems. Distinguished from software design for traditional industrial automation systems, real-time software is usually safety- or mission-critical, which requires high dependability during system operations. Such a system not only needs to satisfy all the functional requirements but also fulfill various end-to-end quality-of-service (QoS) demands such as timeliness, availability, fault tolerance, and so on. In such real-time systems, the available system resources such as central processing unit (CPU) cycles, communication bandwidth, and storage memory are usually restricted, and thus efficient resource allocation in different operation scenarios for QoS assurance is highly desired. As a result, the design of such types of complex real-time software is quite challenging and it is significantly distinct from the conventional non-real-time software design.
Estimation of the Monthly Average Ratios of Organic Mass to Organic Carbon for Fine Particulate Matter at an Urban Site

Two independent methods are used to estimate the seasonality of the ratio of fine particulate organic matter (OM) to fine particulate organic carbon (OC) for atmospheric particulate matter collected at the St. Louis—Midwest Supersite. The first method assumes that all of the fine particulate matter mass that cannot be attributed to sulfate ion, nitrate ion, ammonium ion, elemental carbon and metal oxides is organic matter. Using this method, 98 daily samples were used to estimate the annual average fine particulate matter OM/OC ratio to be 1.81 ± 0.07 with a summer average of 1.95 ± 0.17 and a winter average of 1.77 ± 0.13. The second approach to estimating fine particle OM/OC employed OC source apportionment results and estimates of source specific OM/OC, including primary sources and secondary organic aerosol. The OM/OC estimate that was based on 98 daily source apportionment calculations over a two year period yielded an annual average ratio of 1.96 ± 0.03. Methods used in the study yielded a relativel...
Cruciate-retaining and cruciate-substituting total knee arthroplasty: an in vitro comparison of the kinematics under muscle loads.

The kinematics of posterior cruciate ligament (PCL)-retaining (PCR) and PCL-substituting (PS) total knee arthroplasty (TKA) were compared directly in a robotic, in vitro study, and the forces in the PCL and cam-spine mechanism were measured from 0° to 120° of flexion. The forces in the PCL after PCR TKA and in cam-spine contact after PS TKA increased only at a flexion of ≥90°. Posterior translation of the lateral femoral condyle was significantly greater than translation of the medial femoral condyle in the intact knees, consistent with femoral rollback and internal tibial rotation. The PCR and PS TKAs partially restored these kinematics when the knee flexed >60° (ie, when the forces increased in the PCL and cam-spine mechanism), whereas the PCL-deficient TKA failed to do so. The results reflect the importance of the PCL and cam-spine mechanism after PCL retention and substitution in TKA and confirm the necessity for either one, if knee kinematics are to be restored even partially.
Sexual history and present sexual behavior of cohabiting and married couples

Abstract Fifty married and 50 cohabitating couples responded to a questionnaire containing 14 sex history and 10 present sex behavior variables. Significant differences between the samples were found on 6 of the 24 variables. Cohabiting males and females had been involved with more sexual partners, were less satisfied with their sexual experiences, were more likely to have been involved in group sex, and were more likely to seek an abortion than were married males and females. Cohabiting females were younger at the time of first intercourse, and cohabiting males were less satisfied with their initial intercourse experience. With the exception of the above, the results did not indicate that cohabitors are less traditional or more nonconformist than married in their sex history or present sexual activity within their relationship.
Optical Nonlinearities and Ultrafast Carrier Dynamics in Semiconductor Nanocrystals

Femtosecond transient absorption in the visible and infrared spectral ranges has been applied to study carrier dynamics and mechanisms for resonant optical nonlinearities in CdSe nanocrystals (NCs) with a variety of surface passivations. Sequential filling of the 1S, 1P, and 1D atomic-like electron orbitals, governed by Fermi statistics, is clearly observed in the NC bleaching spectra recorded at progressively higher pump intensities. We observe that electron−hole (e−h) spatial separation strongly affects electron intraband dynamics. Such dependence indicates a nonphonon energy relaxation mechanism involving e−h interactions. A strong difference in electron and hole relaxation behavior in the stage following initial intraband relaxation is observed. In contrast to electron relaxation, which is sensitive to the quality of surface passivation (i.e., is affected by trapping at surface defects), depopulation dynamics of the initially-excited hole states are identical in NCs with different surface properties, ...
Stealthy strategies for deception in hypergames with asymmetric information

This paper considers games with incomplete asymmetric information, where one player (the deceiver) has privileged information about the other (the mark) and intends to employ it for belief manipulation. We use hypergames to represent the asymmetric information available to players and assume a probabilistic model for the actions of the mark. This framework allows us to formalize various notions of deception in a precise way. We provide a necessary condition and a sufficient condition for deceivability when the deceiver is allowed to reveal information to the mark as the game evolves. For the case when the deceiver acts stealthily, i.e., restricts her actions to those that do not contradict the belief of the mark, we are able to fully characterize when deception is possible. Moreover, we design the worst-case max-strategy that, when such a sequence of deceiving actions exists, is guaranteed to find it. An example illustrates our results.
Determining compressor-inlet airflow in the compact multimission aircraft propulsion simulators in wind-tunnel applications

Test techniques are being developed to use the Compact Multimission Aircraft Propulsion Simulator (CMAPS) in wind-tunnel tests. The CMAPS allows simultaneous simulation of inlet and exhaust flow fields. Static tests have been conducted to acquire CMAPS performance data and to evaluate four methods of determining compressor inlet airflow during wind-tunnel tests. The first method measures airflow at the compressor face; the second measures airflow in the compressor discharge duct; the third deduces the compressor airflow from the calibrated nozzle, turbine supply, and turbine bleed airflows; and the fourth correlates compressor airflow with the mixer pressure. Test results and the advantages, disadvantages, and expected accuracy of each method are discussed.
Preference ranking of alternative irrigation technologies via a multicriterion decision-making procedure

ABSTRACT This article develops a preference ranking method for choosing a particular irrigation technology. The method uses a set of 23 criteria to evaluate the performances of 10 alternative irrigation technologies selected to achieve 12 objectives. The evaluation process is made using a distance-based multicriterion decision-making (MCDM) technique known as compromise programming (CP). The whole process resulted in a complete ranking of the 10 alternative technologies including the best and the worst irrigation technologies for the problem under consideration.
Model-based deconvolution of genome-wide DNA binding

Motivation: Chromatin immunoprecipitation followed by hybridization to a genomic tiling microarray (ChIP-chip) is a routinely used protocol for localizing the genomic targets of DNA-binding proteins. The resolution to which binding sites in this assay can be identified is commonly considered to be limited by two factors: (1) the resolution at which the genomic targets are tiled in the microarray and (2) the large and variable lengths of the immunoprecipitated DNA fragments. Results: We have developed a generative model of binding sites in ChIP-chip data and an approach, MeDiChI, for efficiently and robustly learning that model from diverse data sets. We have evaluated MeDiChI's performance using simulated data, as well as on several diverse ChIP-chip data sets collected on widely different tiling array platforms for two different organisms (Saccharomyces cerevisiae and Halobacterium salinarium NRC-1). We find that MeDiChI accurately predicts binding locations to a resolution greater than that of the probe spacing, even for overlapping peaks, and can increase the effective resolution of tiling array data by a factor of 5× or better. Moreover, the method's performance on simulated data provides insights into effectively optimizing the experimental design for increased binding site localization accuracy and efficacy. Availability:MeDiChI is available as an open-source R package, including all data, from http://baliga.systemsbiology.net/medichi. Contact: dreiss@systemsbiology.org Supplementary information: Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online.
Adaptive speculation in behavior-oriented parallelization

Behavior-oriented parallelization is a technique for parallelizing complex sequential programs that have dynamic parallelism. Although the technique shows promising results, the software speculation mechanism it uses is not cost-efficient. Failed speculations may waste computing resource and severely degrade system efficiency. In this work, we propose adaptive speculation to predict the profitability of a speculation and dynamically enable or disable the speculation of a region. Experimental results demonstrate the effectiveness of the scheme in improving the efficiency of software speculation. In addition, the adaptive speculation can also enhance the usability of behavior-oriented parallelization by allowing users to label potential parallel regions more flexibly.
Gradient of the log-likelihood ratio for infinite dimensional stochastic systems

Using a covariance operator approach, we derive an expression for the log-likelihood ratio gradient for system parameter estimation for continuous-time infinite-dimensional stochastic systems. The gradient formula includes the smoother estimates and derivatives of system operators, with no derivatives of estimates or covariance operators. The unbounded operators typically found in partial differential equations limit how much the gradient formula can be simplified. A random heat equation is considered.
Biotinylated Probe Isolation of Targeted Gene Region Improves Detection of T790M Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor Mutation via Peptide Nucleic Acid–Enriched Real-Time PCR

BACKGROUND: The presence of the EGFR (epidermal growth factor receptor) T790M mutation in tumor tissue or body fluids from patients treated with EGFR tyrosine kinase inhibitors may indicate the onset of resistance to treatment. It is important to identify this mutation as early as possible so that treatment can be modified accordingly or potential side effects of further treatment can be avoided. This requirement calls for high detection sensitivity. Peptide nucleic acids (PNAs) are used as PCR clamps to inhibit amplification of wild-type DNA during PCR cycling, thereby enriching for rare mutations such as T790M. We describe a modification that improves the detection limit of PNA-clamp methods by at least 20-fold. METHODS: We enriched the target by exposing genomic DNA to an EGFR exon 20–specific biotinylated oligonucleotide, followed by binding to streptavidin beads. We then prepared serial dilutions of the isolated target DNA containing the T790M mutation by mixing with wild-type DNA and then performed PNA clamp–based, real-time TaqMan PCR. For comparison, we performed PNA clamp–based PCR directly on genomic DNA. RESULTS: Whereas the detection limit for PNA clamp–based PCR performed directly on genomic DNA is 1 mutant allele in 1000 wild-type alleles, conducting the assay with biotinylated oligonucleotide–enriched target DNA improved the detection limit to 1 mutant allele in 40 000 wild-type alleles. A possible explanation for the improvement in detection is that biotin-based target isolation efficiently eliminates wild-type DNA; therefore, fewer erroneous amplifications of wild-type DNA can occur early during the PCR. CONCLUSIONS: Combining target molecule isolation via a biotinylated probe with PNA-enriched TaqMan real-time PCR provides a major improvement for detecting the EGFR T790M resistance mutation.
Analysis and comparison of the signal difference to noise ratio (SDNR), signal difference (SD), and the signal to noise ratio (SNR): evaluating the suitability of the SD and SDNR as MRI quality control parameters

The SDNR value is a display independent parameter that quantitatively measures the contrast-generating ability of a MR protocol. The intent of this research effort was to investigate the performance and suitability of the SDNR and SD measurements as possible MRI quality control parameters to augment the SNR currently employed, Six clinical MRI units were surveyed daily for a 5-week period. A quality control phantom was imaged at the start of each day and the SDNR, SD, and SNR values were calculated and recorded. In addition to daily measurements, performance testing investigated the following seven factors; (1) slice thickness, (2) TR, (3) TE, (4) FOV, (5) NEX, (6) flip angle, and (7) RF nonuniformity. The SDNR performance was similar to SNR performance in the tests conducted. The SD performance was similar to both the SNR and SDNR; however, the sensitivity of the SD measurement was greater in the RF non-uniformity performance tests. Testing results confirm the capability of the SDNR parameter to be used as a QC indicator. Based on the results of the RF nonuniformity test there is a notable and significant difference in sensitivity of the SD and SDNR parameters when compared to the SNR and SDNR measurements. The study results indicate that the SDNR and SD measures could be used to augment the SNR quality control parameter, thereby providing additional quality control capability. Both parameters are easily automated and can be incorporated to augment existing quality control parameters.
Crystalline silicon short-circuit current degradation study: initial results

Following our observation of slow degradation of short-circuit current (I/sub sc/) in crystalline silicon (x-Si) modules that was correlated with ultraviolet (UV) exposure dose, we initiated a new study of individual x-Si cells designed to determine the degradation cause. In this paper, we report the initial results of this study, which has accumulated 1056 MJ/m/sup 2/ of UV dose from 1-sun metal-halide irradiance, equivalent to 3.8 years at our test site. At this time, the control samples are unchanged, the unencapsulated samples have lost about 2% of I/sub sc/, and the samples encapsulated in module-style packages have declined from 1% to 3%, depending on cell technology.
Radiation and the detoxication of chemicals

The detoxication of benzoate and resorcinol has been investigated in irradiated animals. In both instances detoxication was inhibited from the third to the seventh post-irradiation days. The common denominator for this action of X-irradiation appears to be co-enzyme A and/or its substrates.
Efficacy of Monoclonal Antibodies against Defined Antigens for Passive Immunotherapy of Chronic Gastrointestinal Cryptosporidiosis

Cryptosporidium parvum is an important cause of diarrhea in humans and calves and can persistently infect immunocompromised hosts. Presently, there are no consistently effective parasite-specific drugs for cryptosporidiosis. We hypothesized that neutralizing monoclonal antibodies (MAbs) targeting the apical complex and surface antigens CSL, GP25-200, and P23 could passively immunize against cryptosporidiosis. We recently reported that a formulation of MAbs 3E2 (anti-CSL), 3H2 (anti-GP25-200), and 1E10 (anti-P23) provided significant additive prophylactic efficacy over that of the individual MAbs in neonatal ICR mice. In the present study, these MAbs were evaluated for therapeutic efficacy against persistent infection in adult gamma interferon-depleted SCID mice. 3E2 demonstrated the most significant and consistent therapeutic effect, reducing intestinal infection in two experiments. In one experiment, 3E2 plus 3H2 and 3E2 plus 3H2 plus 1E10 also significantly reduced infection; however, no significant increase in efficacy over 3E2 alone was apparent. The results indicate that anti-CSL MAb 3E2 has highly significant efficacy in reducing, but not eliminating, persistent C. parvum infection.
Agronomic biofortification with selenium: Effects on whole blood selenium and humoral immunity in beef cattle

Abstract The purpose of this study was to evaluate Se supplementation strategies in mature beef cattle by measuring changes in whole-blood Se (WB-Se) status and humoral immune response to vaccination. Mature beef cows (n = 45) were balanced by age and randomly assigned to 1 of 3 supplementation groups that received different chemical forms of Se or Se dosages compared to a standard (control) Se treatment. Supplementation treatment groups were provided limited access (6 weeks) to either sodium selenite (200 mg/kg Se; LSe) or Se-fertilized forage (FSe) and subsequently had no additional Se in their mineral supplement for the study duration. The LSe group cows grazed non-Se-fertilized forage. The control group grazed non-Se-fertilized forage and received continuous Se supplementation (CSe) from a free-choice mineral supplement (120 mg/kg Se from sodium selenite). Cows were bled pre and post grazing and then every 4 weeks thereafter for approximately 5 months to assess WB-Se concentration. All cows were immunized with J-5 Escherichia coli bacterin at the end of the 6-week supplementation period, and serum was collected for antibody titers 2 and 4 weeks after the third immunization. Covariate adjusted WB-Se concentrations were influenced (P
The "Unity-lagged" short-time spectrum of a narrow-band Gaussian process

A form of the short-time cross-spectrum of a signal with its delayed self is considered. Its statistical and signal-characterizing properties are derived for the case of a narrow-band random Gaussian signal in white Gaussian noise.
Physiological aspects of vascular endothelial cell interactions in hypertension and atherosclerosis

Hypertension causes a number of alterations of the coronary circulation which may influence the outcome of anaesthesia and surgery. These include changes in the architecture of the coronary vasculature, and impairments in coronary reserve and autoregulatory ability of the coronary microvasculature during decreases in perfusion pressure. Chronic hypertension may also alter endothelial regulation of vascular control. Many of the vasodilators used to treat hypertension may have unique effects on the coronary circulation which may become modified by chronic hypertension and cardiac hypertrophy. In this review, each of these areas are considered together with some unique aspects of endothelial/vascular smooth muscle interactions as they relate to acute and chronic hypertension, and to the pharmacological agents used in the treatment of hypertension.
The Effects of Vasodilators in Pulmonary Hypertension Pulmonary Vascular or Peripheral Vascular

When primary pulmonary hypertension (PPH) was first described in the medical literature, it was characterized from a cardiac catheterization on a young woman who had an elevated pulmonary arterial pressure of unknown origin which, after the intravenous administration of acetylcholine, promptly fell.1 The sentinel description of this phenomenon led to the acceptance of PPH as a medical entity in which inappropriate pulmonary vasoconstriction was a central feature.2 Since then many series of patients with PPH (now referred to as idiopathic pulmonary arterial hypertension [IPAH]) have been published which document a variable ability to respond to acute vasodilator challenge. Although, the approach to therapy has emphasized the initial classification of responder or nonresponder, most patients demonstrate only a small decrease in pulmonary pressure (PAP) in response to vasodilators.3 However, vasodilators are widely prescribed in patients who are nonresponders, based on clinical trials that established the response to a 6-minute walk (6 MW) test as the primary end point.4 The consistent improvement in 6 MW reflects the complexity of exercise intolerance, which may be strongly influenced not only by cardiopulmonary factors, but by peripheral factors such as the muscle ergoreflex.5 In the current era, patients with PAH6 who undergo acute vasoreactivity testing at the time of diagnosis are classified as responders or nonresponders based on the change in PAP from select agents.7 The definition of a responder has changed many times, the most recent being a fall in the mean PAP of at least 10 mmHg to a level below 40 mmHg without any fall in cardiac output.4 However, the response is in reality a continuum, and not an all or none phenomenon. It is notable that in 2 large series of patients who were deemed acute responders, the characteristic of those who had …
Cholesteryl ester transfer protein genotypes associated with venous thrombosis and dyslipoproteinemia in males.

Although numerous genetic and acquired factors are appreciated as risk factors for venous thromboembolism (VTE) [1,2], only recently have male gender [3,4], dyslipoproteinemia [5], and silent atherosclerotic vascular disease [6] been linked to VTE. We recently found that high-density lipoprotein (HDL) deficiency is a key feature of a pattern of dyslipoproteinemia that is associated with VTE in males, and we found that the common TaqI B1 variation in the cholesteryl ester transfer protein (CETP) gene is significantly linked to VTE [5]. However, the TaqI B1/B2 single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) itself is unlikely to affect directly CETP activity, but it is linked to nonsynonymous CETP SNPs Ala373Pro and Arg451Gln [7–9]. Here, we demonstrate that these two CETP variations are associated with VTE and low plasma HDL levels in males.
Innate immune processes are sufficient for driving silicosis in mice

The lung is constantly exposed to potentially pathogenic particles and microorganisms. It has become evident recently that not only innate but also adaptive immune responses to particulates, such as SiO(2) entering the respiratory tract, are complex and dynamic events. Although the cellular mechanisms and anatomical consequences involved in the development of silicosis have been studied extensively, they still remain poorly understood. Based on their capacity for immune regulation, lymphocytes may play a key role in the respiratory response to environmental challenge by SiO(2). The objective of this study was to characterize the impact of SiO(2) exposure on respiratory immune processes, with particular emphasis on evaluating the importance of lymphocytes in the murine silicosis model. Therefore, lymphopenic mice, including NK-deficient, Rag1(-/-), or a combination (Rag1(-/-) NK-depleted), were used and demonstrated that SiO(2)-induced fibrosis and inflammation can occur independently of T, B, NK T, and NK cells. Studies in Rag1(-/-) mice suggest further that lymphocytes may participate in the regulation of SiO(2)-induced inflammation through modulation of the Nalp3 inflammasome. This observation may have clinical relevance in the treatment of inflammatory and fibrotic lung diseases that are refractory or respond suboptimally to current therapeutics.
College Athletes’ Perception of Anterior Cruciate Ligament Injuries and Subsequent Reconstruction

Objectives:Anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) tears are one of the most common ligamentous injuries of the knee. While many advances have been made in both surgical technique and rehabilitation proto...
Dynamically Adjusting Core Frequencies to Accelerate Time Warp Simulations in Many-Core Processors

Time Warp synchronized parallel discrete event simulators are organized to operate asynchronously and aggressively without explicit synchronization between the concurrently executing simulators. In place of an explicit synchronization mechanism, the concurrent simulators maintain a common virtual clock model and implement a rollback/recovery mechanism to restore causal order when out-of-order events are detected. When the critical path of execution of the simulation is balanced across these parallel simulators, this can result in a highly effective, lightweight synchronization mechanism. However, imbalances in the workload across the parallel simulators can result in excessive rollback at some nodes and ultimately result in an overall slowing of the simulation as prematurely computed and transmitted events are processed. On small shared memory multi-core systems, a lowest time-stamp first scheduling policy can effectively balance the workload. However, on larger many-core chips, conventional load balancing and workload migration will once again become necessary. Fortunately, emerging many-core chips contain some interesting features that can potentially be exploited to improve the performance of parallel simulations. For example, the Intel Single-chip Cloud Computer (SCC) provides mechanisms that a running application can use to adjust the frequency/voltage of different regions (called islands) of the chip. These islands are network and processing core centric and thus, in a Time Warp simulation, one can increase the frequency of the cores executing threads on the critical path (those experiencing infrequent rollback) and decrease the frequency of the cores executing threads off the critical path (those experiencing excessive rollback). This paper investigates the run-time control and adjustment of core frequency in an AMD Phenom II X6 multi-core processor to explore and demonstrate that the dynamic run-time control of core frequency can sometimes improve the performance of a Time Warp synchronized parallel simulation.
Subconvexity bounds for automorphic L-functions

We break the convexity bound in the t-aspect for L-functions attached to cusp forms f for GL2(k) over arbitrary number fields k. The argument uses asymptotics with error term with a power saving, for second integral moments over spectral families of twists L(s,f⊗χ) by Grossencharacters χ, from our previous paper on integral moments.
Dental events during periods of isolation in the U.S. submarine force.

ABSTRACT Background: Planning of dental support for populations serving in isolation is essential. Many programs of national or scientific interest such as U.S. Navy submarine missions, the manned space program, and research in Antarctica require long periods where dental care is not available. Submariners make an excellent study population due to their relatively large numbers, good health, excellent dental screening, and professional status. Methods: This study examines dental events occurring while underway on 240 submarine patrols from January 1, 1997 to September 30, 2000. A health events database contains medical encounter notes, demographic information, crew rosters, and medical evacuation reports. A special survey database contains information from three surveys conducted aboard 1 submarine during a 101-day submergence. The evacuation database contains medical evacuation data from the Atlantic and Pacific submarine fleets from 1991 through 1999. Results: One hundred nine initial dental emergency v...
Incidence and Outcomes of Dating Violence Victimization Among High School Youth The Role of Gender and Sexual Orientation

The purpose of this study was to examine rates of dating violence (DV) victimization and DV victimization outcomes as a function of sex and sexual orientation. Participants were 25,122 high school students who participated in the 2013 New Hampshire Youth Risk Behavior Survey study. Heterosexual youth, especially heterosexual male youth, were less likely to report experiencing physical and sexual DV victimization than lesbian, gay, bisexual, and questioning (LGBQ) girls and boys. Among LGBQ girls and boys, there was little variability in rates of DV victimization with the exception of questioning boys being significantly more likely to experience physical and sexual DV victimization than several other LGBQ sub-groups. Furthermore, LGBQ DV victims reported worse outcomes than heterosexual DV victims on measures of depression, binge drinking, and poor academic performance. At the sub-group level, bisexual and questioning female victims were most at risk for depression; bisexual and questioning male victims were most at risk for binge drinking; bisexual male victims were most at risk for poor academic performance. The findings underscore the importance of better understanding variability in DV incidence and outcomes within the LGBQ population and using this information to inform clinical intervention and prevention efforts.
Agnes R. Wayman 1880–1968

(1969). Agnes R. Wayman 1880–1968. Journal of Health, Physical Education, Recreation: Vol. 40, No. 3, pp. 94-94.
PS2-39: Depression and Its Relationship to Perceived Financial Burden among Long-term Rectal Cancer Survivors with Ostomies and Anastomoses

Background/Aims Consequences of surgery for rectal cancer (permanent ostomy (PO), anastomosis (AN), or temporary ostomy (TO) followed by anastomosis) can affect survivors’ psychological and financial well-being. We investigated depression and its association with perceived financial burden resulting from their illness/treatment among long-term (≥5 years post-diagnosis) survivors.
Ethical decision making in a crisis: A case study of ethics in public health emergencies

Public health emergencies, such as hurricanes and the constant threat of an influenza pandemic, present public health responders with many ethical issues and little time to think them through. We interviewed 13 responders in the Epidemiology Section of the North Carolina Division of Public Health to learn how they have identified and addressed ethical issues in public health emergencies affecting the state and to identify potential means of improving those processes for North Carolina and other states. The Epidemiology Section staff demonstrated an awareness of several ethical issues in public health emergencies and an ability to identify and address issues through group interactions. However, few study participants in the section had received any training in public health ethics. Perhaps for this reason, the range of ethical issues they identified excluded several mentioned in the Public Health Code of Ethics. Moreover, their ethical decision making could be enhanced by a more detailed understanding of the ethical issues they named. We recommend seven practical steps that the Epidemiology Section can take to improve their ability to identify and address ethical issues in a public health emergency. The recommendations are likely relevant to many state, city, and county public health departments throughout the United States.
Comparison of hospital room surface disinfection using a novel ultraviolet germicidal irradiation (UVGI) generator.

ABSTRACTThe estimated 721,800 hospital acquired infections per year in the United States have necessitated development of novel environmental decontamination technologies such as ultraviolet germicidal irradiation (UVGI). This study evaluated the efficacy of a novel, portable UVGI generator (the TORCH, ChlorDiSys Solutions, Inc., Lebanon, NJ) to disinfect surface coupons composed of plastic from a bedrail, stainless steel, chrome-plated light switch cover, and a porcelain tile that were inoculated with methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) or vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus faecalis (VRE). Each surface type was placed at 6 different sites within a hospital room and treated by 10-min ultraviolet-C (UVC) exposures using the TORCH with doses ranging from 0–688 mJ/cm2 between sites. Organism reductions were compared with untreated surface coupons as controls. Overall, UVGI significantly reduced MRSA by an average of 4.6 log10 (GSD: 1.7 log10, 77% inactivation, p < 0.0001) and VRE by an average ...
Bronchoalveolar Lavage Cytology in Pulmonary Alveolar Proteinosis

Pulmonary alveolar proteinosis (PAP) is an uncommon disease in which alveoli are progressively filled with surfactant-related material. Although a definitive diagnosis is usually made by an open lung biopsy, bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) cytology may play a decisive role in the clinical work-up of these patients, and, in some cases, may spare a patient a more invasive diagnostic procedure. The authors present three patients in whom BAL cytology specimens contained the characteristic (although not specific) globules of amorphous proteinaceous PAS-positive material accompanied by only rare background macrophages and inflammatory cells. The patients include a 40-year-old man with an 8-year history of fever of unknown origin, a 30-year-old man with a chronic nonproductive cough, and a 6-year-old boy diagnosed at 5 months of age with osteopetrosis and hypogammaglobulinemia who subsequently developed a disseminated Mycobacterium avium-intracellulare infection. All specimens stained with Gomori methenamine silver (3) and Ziehl-Neelsen (2) were negative for microbial organisms, Ultrastructural examination of two specimens revealed the characteristic lamellar structures of surfactant, increasing diagnostic specificity. Lung biopsies and/or autopsy subsequently confirmed the diagnosis in all three cases. The characteristic cytologic and ultrastructural features of PAP in BAL specimens are presented along with the morphologic differential features of other entities which potentially could be confused with PAP.
Association of Histopathologic Phenotype of Periampullary Adenocarcinomas With Survival.

Importance Patients with periampullary adenocarcinomas have widely variable survival. These cancers are traditionally categorized by their anatomic location of origin, namely, the duodenum, ampulla, distal common bile duct (CBD), or head of the pancreas. However, they can be alternatively subdivided histopathologically into intestinal or pancreaticobiliary (PB) types, which may more accurately estimate prognosis. Objectives To identify factors associated with survival in patients with periampullary adenocarcinomas and to compare survival between those having intestinal-type or PB-type cancers originating from the duodenum, ampulla, or distal CBD with those having pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC). Design, Setting, and Participants This study was a retrospective analysis of medical records in a prospectively maintained database. Three pathologists separately evaluated histopathologic phenotypes at a university-based tertiary referral center. Study participants were all patients (N = 510) who underwent pancreatoduodenectomy for adenocarcinoma between January 1995 and December 2014. Main Outcome and Measure Overall survival. Results This study identified 510 patients (mean [SD] age, 66.1 [10.9] years; 245 female [48%]) who underwent pancreatoduodenectomy for adenocarcinomas: 13 duodenal, 110 ampullary, 43 distal CBD, and 344 PDAC. The median overall survival was 61.2 (interquartile range [IQR], 22.0-111.0), 70.4 (IQR, 26.7-147.7), 40.6 (IQR, 15.2-59.6), and 31.4 (IQR, 17.3-86.3) months for patients with cancers of the duodenum, ampulla, distal CBD, or pancreas, respectively ( P = .01), indicating a significant difference between the 4 tumor anatomic locations. Most duodenal (61.5% [8 of 13]) and ampullary (51.8% [57 of 110]) cancers were intestinal type, and most distal CBD tumors were PB type (86.0% [37 of 43]). Those with intestinal-type duodenal, ampullary, or distal CBD adenocarcinomas had longer median overall survival than those with PB type (71.7 vs 33.3 months, P = .02) or PDAC (31.4 months, P = .003). There was no survival difference between PB-type cancers and PDAC (33.3 vs 31.4 months, P = .66). On multivariable analysis, histologic grade (hazard ratio [HR], 1.98; 95% CI, 1.56-2.52; P P = .008), and nodal status (HR, 1.45; 95% CI, 1.12-1.87; P = .05) were significantly associated with survival, while anatomic location was not. Conclusions and Relevance Histopathologic phenotype is a better prognosticator of survival in patients with periampullary adenocarcinomas than tumor anatomic location. Those with PB-type duodenal, ampullary, or distal CBD adenocarcinomas have survival similar to those with PDAC.
Numerical Correlation of Levator Advancement in Preoperative Planning.

BACKGROUND Several procedures have been proposed for the treatment of eyelid ptosis, and both levator advancement and levator plication are widely used to shorten the levator palpebrae superioris. The purpose of this study was to quantify perioperative lid measurements in patients undergoing bilateral levator aponeurosis advancements to aid in preoperative planning. METHODS Between July 2014 and June 2016, the authors performed a retrospective analysis of all bilateral upper eyelid levator advancement procedures for ptosis performed by the senior surgeon. There are a total of 21 patients (6 men and 15 women) with a mean age of 63 years (range, 48-79 years). The average time at follow-up was 5.3 months, with a range of 1 to 26 months. RESULTS In this retrospective study, we collected data on presurgical measurements including marginal reflex distance 1 (MRD1), surgical technique used (symmetrical/asymmetrical levator advancement) with millimeters of advancement used, and postsurgical measurements. We found that on average, an advancement of 4 mm led to an improvement in MRD1 of 2.26 mm (n = 14), and advancement of 5 mm led to an improvement in MRD1 of 2.74 mm (n = 15). Patients also reported improvements in their quality of life. CONCLUSIONS Our results may be used to guide clinicians in preoperative planning.