cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Safety, immunogenicity, and efficacy in monkeys and humans of invasive Escherichia coli K-12 hybrid vaccine candidates expressing Shigella flexneri 2a somatic antigen

A live, oral Shigella vaccine, constructed by transfer of the 140-MDa invasiveness plasmid from Shigella flexneri 5 and the chromosomal genes encoding the group- and type-specific O antigen of S. flexneri 2a to Escherichia coli K-12, was tested in humans. Designated EcSf2a-1, this vaccine produced adverse reactions (fever, diarrhea, or dysentery) in 4 (31%) of 13 subjects who ingested a single dose of 1.0 x 10(9) CFU, while at better-tolerated doses (5.0 x 10(6) to 5.0 x 10(7) CFU), it provided no significant protection against challenge with S. flexneri 2a. A further-attenuated aroD mutant derivative, EcSf2a-2, was then tested. Rhesus monkeys that received EcSf2a-2 in three oral doses of ca. 1.5 x 10(11) CFU experienced no increase in gastrointestinal symptoms compared with a control group that received an E. coli K-12 placebo. Compared with controls, the vaccinated monkeys were protected against shigellosis after challenge with S. flexneri 2a (60% efficacy; P = 0.001). In humans, EcSf2a-2 was well tolerated at inocula ranging from 5.0 x 10(6) to 2.1 x 10(9) CFU. However, after a single dose of 2.5 x 10(9) CFU, 4 (17%) of 23 subjects experienced adverse reactions, including fever (3 subjects) and diarrhea (209 ml) (1 subject), and after a single dose of 1.8 x 10(10) CFU, 2 of 4 subjects developed dysentery. Recipients of three doses of 1.2 to 2.5 x 10(9) CFU had significant rises in serum antibody to lipopolysaccharide (61%) and invasiveness plasmid antigens (44%) and in gut-derived immunoglobulin A antibody-secreting cells specific for lipopolysaccharide (100%) and invasiveness plasmid antigens (60%). Despite its immunogenicity, the vaccine conferred only 36% protection against illness (fever, diarrhea, or dysentery) induced by experimental challenge (P = 0.17). These findings illustrate the use of an epithelial cell-invasive E. coli strain as a carrier for Shigella antigens. Future studies must explore dosing regimens that might optimize the protective effects of the vaccine while eliminating adverse clinical reactions.
The Π₃-theory of the computably enumerable Turing degrees is undecidable

We show the undecidability of the Π3-theory of the partial order of enumerable Turing degrees. 0. Introduction. Recursively enumerable (henceforth called enumerable) sets arise naturally in many areas of mathematics, for instance in the study of elementary theories, as solution sets of polynomials or as the word problems of finitely generated subgroups of finitely presented groups. Putting the enumerable sets into context with each other in various ways yields structures whose study has for long been a mainstay of computability theory. If the sets are related in the most elementary way, namely by inclusion, one obtains a distributive lattice E with very complex algebraic properties. Another way to compare sets is to look at the information content. Turing reducibility is a very general, but the most widely accepted concept of relative computability: a setX of natural numbers is Turing-reducible to Y iff the answer to “n ∈ X?” can be determined by a Turing machine computation which can use answers to oracle questions “y ∈ Y ?” during the computation. (For more restricted notions of relative computability one would for instance place a priori 1991 Mathematics Subject Classification. 03D25,03D35.
La estructura en las redes personales

Most personal (egocentric) network studies describe networks using measures that are not structural, opting instead for attribute-based analyses that summarize the relationships of the respondent to network members. Those researchers that used structural measures have done so on networks of less than 10 members who represent the network core. Although much has been learned by focusing on attribute-based analyses of personal network data, the application of structural analyses that are traditionally used on whole (sociocentric) network data may prove fruitful. The utility of this approach becomes apparent when the sample of network members elicited is relatively large. Forty-six respondents free-listed 60 network members and evaluated tie strength between all 1,770 unique pairs of members. Graph-based measures of cohesion and subgroups revealed variability in the personal network structure. Nonhierarchical clustering generated subgroups that were subsequently verified by respondents as meaningful. Further analysis of the correlation between subgroup types and overlap between subgroups demonstrates how the analysis of each
Postnatal differentiation of unipolar brush cells and mossy fiber-unipolar brush cell synapses in rat cerebellum.

Abstract The unipolar brush cells are excitatory, cerebellar granular layer interneurons that receive mossy fiber input on their dendritic brushes in the form of a giant glutamatergic synapse. We investigated the postnatal development of the brush of the unipolar brush cell in lobules IX and X by light microscopy and defined the maturation of mossy fiber-unipolar brush cell synapses and mossy fiber-granule cell synapses by electron microscopy using calretinin immunocytochemistry to identify unipolar brush cells. During the first postnatal week, unipolar brush cells possessed one or two short, branched dendrites. The brush differentiated primarily during the successive 21 postnatal (P) days, during which it underwent progressive maturation. This developmental process was subdivided into stages 1–4, which were descriptively termed protodendritic unipolar brush cell (P2–12), filopodial brush (P12–16), intermediate brush (P16–21), and dendriolar brush (P21–28) stages. Electron microscopic measurements of individual mossy fiber-unipolar brush cell and mossy fiber-granule cell synaptic junctions were made at P12, 16, 21, and 28. While the average length of mossy fiber-unipolar brush cell synapses increased during development, that of mossy fiber-granule cell synapses decreased. Comparisons of the lengths of mossy fiber-unipolar brush cell and mossy fiber-granule cell synapses demonstrated that mossy fiber-unipolar brush cell synapses were longer on average than mossy fiber-granule cell synapses for all ages. Frequency distribution histograms also showed that the percentage of mossy fiber-unipolar brush cell synapses longer than 0.5 μm was lower in the pooled P12–P16 groups than in the pooled P21–P28 groups (8 versus 20%). In contrast, mossy fiber-granule cell synapses longer than 0.5 μm were a small minority at P12, 16, and 21, and occurred rarely at P28. The present study indicates that mossy fiber-unipolar brush cell synapses increase in length with the differentiation of the brush dendrioles, while that of mossy fiber-granule cell synapses decrease with differentiation of the granule cell dendritic claws. The finding that mossy fiber-unipolar brush cell synapses were generally longer than mossy fiber-granule cell synapses may indicate that the properties of the postsynaptic targets play a major role in shaping synaptic appositions within cerebellar glomeruli.
A CROSS‐VALIDATION STUDY OF THE ITEM ORDERING OF THE PEABODY PICTURE VOCABULARY TEST1

A subset of the items of both forms of the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test (PPVT) was administered to a sample of 452 fourth-, fifth- and sixth-grade students. This sample of students was randomly divided into two equal subgroups. Item difficulty indices were calculated for each of the two subsamples for each of the two forms of the test. Data obtained from the first subsample were used to evaluate the published ordering of items of Forms A and B of the PPVT and to reorder the items according to the empirically derived item difficulties. The second subsample was used as a cross-validation sample to evaluate the empirically derived reordering of items. The results of the cross-validation of the reordering indicate a substantial and significant increase in the validity of the item orderings for this subset of items on both forms of the PPVT. Therefore, this new ordering may yield a more accurate estimate of the intelligence of average and above students in the fourth-, fifth-, and sixth-grades than the present, published ordering of items. The research here reported grew out of a concern for the efficacy of using the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test (PPVT) to screen large groups of youngsters for possible admission to special programs for the academically gifted. The PPVT is a relatively new but widely used instrument designed to measure the intelligence of English speaking residents of the United States between the ages of two and one-half years and eighteen years. The test consists of 150 plates containing four pictures each. The pictures on any one plate represent objects, activities, or states of being. The test is administered by presenting the subject with a stimulus word for each plate, and credit is earned by a correct indication of which of the four pictures best illustrates the meaning of the stimulus word. The pictures are arranged in an ascending order of difficulty and subjects are tested from a basal of eight consecutive correct answers to a ceiling which consists of six errors on eight consecutive responses. The procedure used for establishing a ceiling, and thus stopping the test, assumes that the subject would not answer additional items cor
Lack of effect of pilocarpine on corneal epithelial wound healing.

The effect of a commercially available pilocarpine preparation on corneal epithelial healing rates was evaluated in rabbit eyes. Epithelial defects were created with filter paper discs soaked in n-heptanol. After creation of the defects, the corneas were stained with fluorescein and photographed using a Wratten blue filter. Follow-up examinations, drop administration, and photography were carried out every six hours for three days. Defect size was determined by computerized planimetry.The first phase of this study compared the effects of non-preserved saline and a commercially available methylcellulose preparation. The second phase compared a commercially available 2% pilocarpine preparation with 2% pilocarpine solution in non-preserved saline. We found that 2% pilocarpine had no significant effect on corneal epithelial healing rates.
Are single-gift committed donors different from their multiple-gift counterparts?

Committed donors who keep giving every year are a key asset for nonprofit organizations because they provide a steady funding source and return a higher lifetime value. We distinguish between committed donors who give only one gift per year (single-gift (SG) donors) and those who give multiple gifts in at least some year (multiple-gift (MG) donors). In this paper, we study whether SG donors and MG donors follow different longitudinal patterns of gift-giving in four consecutive years. We theorize that a donor's yearly gift amount is an indication of his or her willingness to give (WTG) to the organization and may be explained in terms of his or her intrinsic willingness to give (IWTG) and extrinsic willingness to give (EWTG) for that year. We test our theory with data from a leading US nonprofit organization and find that SG donors and MG donors would follow different longitudinal patterns: While SG donors and MG donors would start off at a similar level of WTG in year 1 and would both increase WTG in subsequent years, MG donors would record a higher rate of increase than SG donors. IWTG and EWTG would have different relative importance as determinants of the observed yearly giving level: MG donors depend on both IWTG and EWTG whereas SG donors largely depend on IWTG rather than EWTG to determine how much to give in a year. Our findings suggest that different strategies are needed to manage SG donors and MG donors to sustain and grow annual contributions. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Measurement-based performance evaluation technique for high-performance computers

A measurement-based performance evaluation technique has been used to characterize the OS performance of Cedar, a hierarchical shared-memory multiprocessor system. Thirteen OS performance meters were used to capture the operating system activities for compute-bound workloads. Three representative applications from the Perfect Benchmark Suite were used to measure the OS performance in a dedicated system and in multiprogrammed workloads. It was found that 13-23 percent of the total execution time on a dedicated system was spent in executing OS-related activities. Under multiprogramming, 12-14 percent of the total execution time was used by the OS. The impact of multiprogramming on the operating system performance meters was also measured.
Whipple's disease involving the pericardium: Pathological confirmation during life.

Summary: Whipple's disease involving the pericardium: Pathological confirmation during life. R. E. Vlietstra, J. T. Lie, W. E. Kuhl, G. K. Danielson and M. K. Roberts, Aust. N.Z. J. Med., 1978, 8, pp. 649–651. Cardiac involvement in Whipple's disease has been a frequent autopsy finding but is rarely recognized clinically. We report here a patient, a 63-year-old man, in whom Whipple's disease was diagnosed in 1974, based on a seven-year history of arthralgia, one-year history of weight loss and steatorrhea, and diagnostic small bowel biopsy. Despite complete regression of all joint and bowel symptoms following a prolonged course of tetracycline therapy, the patient developed incapacitating congestive heart failure and signs of constrictive pericarditis, for which a thoracotomy and pericardectomy was performed. Histologic examination revealed fibrous pericarditis with mononuclear infiltrates, including PAS-positive histiocytes. The characteristic bacilliform bodies were identified by electron microscopy in the resected pericardium. This to our knowledge is the first such demonstration during life of Whipple's disease involving the heart.
The Effectiveness of Increasing Sample Size to Mitigate the Influence of Population Characteristics in Haphazard Sampling

Over 40 years ago both Deming (1954) and Arkin (1957) expressed concerns that the composition of samples chosen through haphazard selection may be unrepresentative due to the presence of unintended selection biases. To mitigate this problem some experts in the field of audit sampling recommend increasing sample sizes by up to 100 percent when utilizing haphazard selection. To examine the effectiveness of this recommendation 142 participants selected haphazard samples from two populations. The compositions of these samples were then analyzed to determine if certain population elements were overrepresented, and if the extent of overrepresentation declined as sample size increased. Analyses disclosed that certain population elements were overrepresented in the samples. Also, increasing sample size produced no statistically significant change in the composition of samples from one population, while in the second population increasing the sample size produced a statistically significant but minor reduction in ...
Nicotine addiction and the lure of reward

Withdrawal from chronic nicotine exposure decreases the activity of the brain reward pathway in a manner similar to other addictive drugs.
A narrow complex tachycardia with intermittent atrioventricular dissociation: what is the mechanism?

Case presentation A 57-year-old woman underwent diagnostic electrophysiology study because of recurrent symptomatic supraventricular tachycardia refractory to combination therapy with metoprolol and Cardizem. Her resting 12-lead electrocardiogram and transthoracic echocardiogram were normal. Baseline atrio-His and His-ventricular intervals measured 59 and 52 ms, respectively. Dual antegrade atrioventricular (AV) node physiology was observed during programmed atrial extrastimulation. Ventriculoatrial conduction was midline but only intermittent at a paced cycle length of 500 ms. Multiple episodes of tachycardia initiated and terminated spontaneously (Figure 1). Right ventricular (RV) premature depolarizations delivered when the His bundle was refractory failed to affect the tachycardia. The response of tachycardia to overdrive RV and coronary sinus (CS) pacing as well as atrial premature depolarizations (APDs) delivered during His bundle refractoriness are shown in Figure 2. Based on these observations, what is the mechanism of tachycardia?
Aerosol size distributions measured at the South Pole during ISCAT

Abstract Aerosol physical size distributions were measured at the South Pole during December 1998 and December 2000 as part of the ISCAT program. The size ranges covered by these measurements were 3 to 250 nm in 1998 and 3 nm–2 μm in 2000. “Typical background aerosols” measured during both periods were similar. Total aerosol number concentrations ranged from 100 to 300 cm−3 with occasional spikes as high as 10,000 cm−3. We believe the spikes were due to local emissions. The number mean size of background aerosols ranged from 50 to 70 nm, and total aerosol surface area concentrations were 2.8±0.4 μm2 cm−3. Aerosols measured in December 2000 were cleanly separated into “low volume” and “high volume” periods. During the low-volume periods, volume concentrations were 0.07±0.01 μm3cm−3 with a volume mean diameter of 0.27±0.05 μm, and these volume concentrations were mostly within a factor two of values that would be expected based on reconstructed mass from particulate chemical composition. Volume concentrations during the “high volume” periods exceed levels that can be explained from aerosol chemistry and calculated light-scattering coefficients exceed values that have been recorded historically. We have been unable to identify why this might have occurred. We observed one 4-h event on December 15, 2000 during which nanoparticles grew slowly from ∼3.0 to 3.6 nm.We believe these particles had recently been formed by nucleation. Because this occurred during a period of stagnation, it is possible that this event was associated with local emissions.
Characterisation of a tumour-specific antigen on the surface of feline lymphosarcoma cells.

IN domestic cats, regression of tumours originally induced by inoculation of feline sarcoma virus (FeSV) as well as the resistance to feline leukaemia virus (FeLV)-induced lymphosarcoma in the natural environment are correlated with high titres of antibody to the feline oncornavirus-associated cell membrane antigen (FOCMA)1–4. FOCMA is present on FeLV-producing and nonproducing feline lymphosarcoma (LSA) cells and FeSV-infected fibrosarcoma cells but is absent from FeLV-infected normal cells. This finding is consistent with the interpretation that FOCMA represents an FeLV or FeSV-induced transformation-specific protein5–7. Other workers have initiated studies of the biochemical nature of FOCMA derived from cytoplasmic extracts of cells of a heterologous species (mink) nonproductively transformed by FeSV8–10. However, our primary interest has been to analyse FOCMA expressed on naturally occurring LSA cells from pet cats. We describe here the identification of a hitherto unrecognised protein on the surface of feline LSA cells and cultured transformed feline lymphoblastoid cells which exhibits antigenic determinants in common with FOCMA. The molecular weight of this protein is approximately 70,000. Our data agree with the accumulating evidence that FOCMA is distinct from all FeLV and RD114-coded virion antigens4,6–11.
Real-world real options: a powerful decision technology tool for managing risk and flexibility in capital investment projects

Traditional methods of capital investment project evaluation do not provide the flexibility for strategic decision making on new business ventures. However, real options tools encourage proactive strategic management and, when used properly, can significantly improve decision making in regard to capital investments. Historical perspective on the use of real options is presented and a summary of available tools for invoking this approach. Three examples of real-life capital-intensive high-risk new business ventures in the Architecture, Engineering, Construction (AEC) and Real Estate Development industries are chosen to show how real options can be used to more accurately determine the value of flexibility on projects.
How Earth remote sensing from the International Space Station complements current satellite‐based sensors

The International Space Station (ISS) will provide an Earth‐ and space‐observing platform that will support sensors built by 16 different countries and deliver data and images for local, regional and global research. When complete, it will be an exceptional platform for conducting remote sensing of the Earth, astrophysics, and space physics research programmes. Additionally, the ISS will operate as a testbed for engineering studies and complex technological developments that will benefit future Earth‐observing capabilities. The key question addressed here is: What can the ISS give the Earth Science community that current and planned satellite platforms do not already offer? To answer this query we provide characteristics of the ISS structure, current and proposed instruments, orbital characteristics, and instrument accessibility by crew. We show how the Earth‐observing instruments on ISS complement current satellite‐based Earth‐observing sensors.
A Finite Element Analysis of Welding-Induced Distortion Control for Large Box Beam Structures

AbstractWelding-induced distortion is a common problem in industry. Many methods have been proposed in recent years to minimize such distortion, among which transient thermal tensioning has been shown effective for simple structures such as fillet joints or T-joints. Owing to the complexity of the welding process, effective implementation of the transient thermal tensioning method requires determining appropriate process parameters. The current paper presents a study on controlling the welding-induced distortion of large box beam structures that are made by joining four side plates simultaneously with multiple arc welds. The transient thermal tensioning method is applied through differential preheating zones moving along with the welding torches. A finite element model is developed to examine the sensitivity of various preheating parameters, including the average preheating temperature, temperature differential, and the preheating location. It is found that the differential preheating control is effective...
Oxidation‐Reduction Potentials of Canned Foods and Their Ability to Support Clostridium Botulinum Toxigenesis

Oxidation-reduction potentials (Eh) of canned foods ranged from -18 to -438 mV. Foods packed in glass had higher redox potentials than those packed in cans. Only 4 out of 26 products tested reached positive redox values after exposure to air for 24 hr at 4°C. Inoculated containers of mushrooms, whole corn, cream corn, asparagus, beef gravy, kidney beans, green beans, cream of mushroom soup, cheddar cheese soup, and lima beans supported toxin production by C. botulinum; potatoes and beets did not.
Status of the NGNP fuel experiment AGR-2 irradiated in the advanced test reactor

Abstract The United States Department of Energy's Next Generation Nuclear Plant (NGNP) Advanced Gas Reactor (AGR) Fuel Development and Qualification Program will be irradiating up to seven separate low enriched uranium (LEU) tri-isotopic (TRISO) particle fuel (in compact form) experiments in the Advanced Test Reactor (ATR) located at the Idaho National Laboratory (INL). These irradiations and fuel development are being accomplished to support development of the next generation reactors in the United States, and will be irradiated over the next several years to demonstrate and qualify new TRISO coated particle fuel for use in high temperature gas reactors. The goals of the irradiation experiments are to provide irradiation performance data to support fuel process development, to qualify fuel for normal operating conditions, to support development and validation of fuel performance and fission product transport models and codes, and to provide irradiated fuel and materials for post irradiation examination (PIE) and safety testing. The experiments, which will each consist of at least six separate capsules, will be irradiated in an inert sweep gas atmosphere with individual on-line temperature monitoring and control of each capsule. The sweep gas will also undergo on-line fission product monitoring to track performance of the fuel in each individual capsule during irradiation. The first experiment (designated AGR-1) started irradiation in December 2006 and was completed in November 2009. The second experiment (AGR-2), which utilized the same experiment design as well as control and monitoring systems as AGR-1, started irradiation in June 2010 and is currently scheduled to be completed in April 2013. The design of this experiment and support systems will be briefly discussed, followed by the progress and status of the experiment to date.
Methodological Foundations for Public Policy Analysis: A Review Essay

Books reviewed in this articles: Garry D. Brewer and Peter deLeon, The Foundations of Policy Analysis Stuart S. Nagel, Policy Evaluation: Making Optimum Decisions David C. Paris and James F. Reynolds, The Logic of Policy Inquiry William N. Dunn, Public Policy Analysis: An Introduction Melvin J. Dubnick and Barbara A. Bardes, Thinking About Public Policy: A Problem-Solving Approach
The two Cs: ceramide and cardiomyopathy.

The paper published in this issue of the Journal (1) highlights the great importance of lipid metabolism, fatty acid metabolism, and, particularly, ceramide homeostasis in cardiac function. While fatty acid is a preferred fuel for the energy of cardiac contractility, an imbalance between fatty acid and glucose metabolism may result in the generation of lipotoxic metabolites that disturb the function in the heart, in severe cases leading to cardiomyopathy, especially dilated cardiomyopathy. Rodent models of this pathology and altered metabolic homeostasis include obesity, often associated with diabetes and increases in the expression of fatty acid transport protein; of fatty acyl CoA synthase; and of either PPARa or PPARg nuclear hormone receptors regulating fatty acid metabolism. The precise mechanism of cardiac dysfunction is not fully established. The paper by Park et al. (1) represents a further probing of the model established in Goldbergʼs laboratory about 5 years ago (2). In an effort to determine the possible role of an extravascular pool of lipoprotein lipase (LPL), they developed a mouse in which LPL was expressed in and tethered to cardiomyocyte plasma membrane by a glycosylphosphatidyl inositol anchoring sequence (LPLgpi). This transgene was driven by a myosin heavy chain promoter. These mice exhibited increased lipid uptake and oxidation, ceramide accumulation, and a dilated cardiomyopathy, with decreased functional cardiomyocyte shortening. The mechanism of this cardiac dysfunction was not clear.
Exemplary data: sample size and power in the design of event-time clinical trials.

Abstract In planning a complex clinical trial with time to event as the outcome, it is difficult to derive the power of the test statistic analytically. In this paper we describe an algorithm for generating exemplary data from an alternative hypothesis that can be used to compute the expected value of a logrank test statistic and its power under that alternative. Exemplary data are nonrandomly computer-generated data that are constructed from a complex stochastic process and have desirable characteristics such as distributional moments similar to those of the process. An algorithm for generating exemplary timed events data is presented and its use in evaluating power for the planning of clinical trials demonstrated. These data represent “expectations” of outcome, date censoring, and censoring event times. A test statistic, z, such as the longrank can be computed from the data. It is distributed asymptotically, N{μA, 1{, under the alternative hypothesis and its value is used to estimate μA and the power of the test for a given trial scenario. The results compare favorably to results from analytical methods and Monte Carlo simulations published in the literature. The advantages of the method lie in the degree of flexibility in study design, choice of models that describe the timing of events, and the range of testing methods that can be used. Although Monte Carlo methods may appear to have similar flexibility, the exemplary algorithm is more practical because only one data set need be analyzed and the modifications can be achieved without reprogramming.
Algorithmic Measurement of Digital Instantaneous Frequency

This paper presents an algorithmic method for measuring the instantaneous frequency of a uniformly sampled FM signal. The measured parameter, termed digital instantaneous frequency, is defined in a manner similar to that used to describe frequency-modulated, continuous-time signals. The measurements are derived from an adaptive linear prediction spectral estimates. The proposed algorithm is utilized in the development of a digital processor for FM demodulation which operates on a uniformly sampled FM signal, and its output is a sampled sequence of the estimated demodulated message. The performance of the digital processor is demonstrated and compared with that of a conventional FM discriminator.
Minerals in the hair and nutrient intake of autistic children

The concentrations of calcium, magnesium, zinc, copper, lead, and cadmium were determined in scalp hair samples from a group of 12 autistic children and a group of 12 nonautistic control children. The only statistically significant difference between median concentrations of minerals in the hair from the two groups was a 62% decrease in the concentration of cadmium in the hair of autistic children. This decrease was probably not physiologically significant. The nutrient intake of autistic children as a group was found to be adequate and typical of well-fed American children. It was concluded that the children in neither the autistic nor the nonautistic control group showed evidence of toxicity or deficiency of the minerals or nutrients studied, but because of food idiosyncracies nutrient intake should be monitored.
A computer system for real-time monitoring and management of the critically ill

During the past decade a number of specialized hospital units have been developed for monitoring and care of critically ill patients. These units, which include coronary and intensive care facilities, trauma, renal dialysis and post surgery recovery wards, now provide up to five percent of beds in acute community hospitals.
Observer performance assessment of JPEG-compressed high-resolution chest images

The JPEG compression algorithm was tested on a set of 529 chest radiographs that had been digitized at a spatial resolution of 100 micrometer and contrast sensitivity of 12 bits. Images were compressed using five fixed 'psychovisual' quantization tables which produced average compression ratios in the range 15:1 to 61:1, and were then printed onto film. Six experienced radiologists read all cases from the laser printed film, in each of the five compressed modes as well as in the non-compressed mode. For comparison purposes, observers also read the same cases with reduced pixel resolutions of 200 micrometer and 400 micrometer. The specific task involved detecting masses, pneumothoraces, interstitial disease, alveolar infiltrates and rib fractures. Over the range of compression ratios tested, for images digitized at 100 micrometer, we were unable to demonstrate any statistically significant decrease (p greater than 0.05) in observer performance as measured by ROC techniques. However, the observers' subjective assessments of image quality did decrease significantly as image resolution was reduced and suggested a decreasing, but nonsignificant, trend as the compression ratio was increased. The seeming discrepancy between our failure to detect a reduction in observer performance, and other published studies, is likely due to: (1) the higher resolution at which we digitized our images; (2) the higher signal-to-noise ratio of our digitized films versus typical CR images; and (3) our particular choice of an optimized quantization scheme.
Has the Feminist Movement Influenced Adolescent Sex Role Attitudes? A Reassessment After a Quarter Century.

The attitudes of adolescents toward sex role stereotyping in 1956 were compared with the attitudes of youth in 1982. Contrary to our prediction, sex role stereotyping was not significantly less in 1982 than in 1956. Boys emphasized both sex role differentiation, and the symbols of male dominance and female subordination, more than girls did. However, girls showed significantly less dissatisfaction with being a girl in 1982 than girls did in 1956. It may be that the basic power relationships of gender had not altered by 1982 but that the self-image of girls had improved.
romantic documents and political monuments: the meaning-fulfillment of history in 19th-century Czech nationalism

Nineteenth-century Czech manuscript forgery and the production of cultural monuments inspired by the texts illustrate the relationship between invention and erasure that underlies the notion of selective tradition. The success of nationalist movements depends on meaning-fulfilling acts through which tradition is concretized as part of the everyday spatiotemporal world. The process is paralleled by the forgetting and dismantling of these concretizations. This suggests that history, in spite of its concern for continuity and factuality, is by definition self-destructive and that there exists a close relationship between literal-mindedness and the hegemonic power of selective traditions.
Low Cortical Bone Density Measured by Computed Tomography in Children and Adolescents with Untreated Hyperthyroidism

Objective To determine whether increased thyroid hormones levels have an effect on various bone components (cortical vs cancellous bone). Study design The anthropometric and 3-dimensional quantitative computed tomography (CT) bone measurements, including bone density (BD), cross-sectional area (CSA) of the lumbar spine and femur, and cortical bone area (CBA) of the femur, of 18 children and adolescents with untreated hyperthyroidism were reviewed and compared with those of age-, sex-, and ethnicity-matched historical controls. Results No significant differences in height, weight, body mass index (BMI), or pubertal staging between patients and controls were found. Cortical BD was significantly lower ( P Conclusions As determined by CT, cortical bone is the preferential site of bone loss in children and adolescents with untreated hyperthyroidism.
Students teaching students: a medical school peer tutorial programme

Summary. A peer tutorial programme which is available to all first- and second-year medical students has been in operation at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine since 1972. A retrospective study of the classes of 1982, 1983 and 1984 was undertaken to assess the participation levels in the tutorial programme and to compare the participation level to available performance parameters. The analysis revealed that 54% of the first-year classes and 22% of the second-year classes participated in the peer tutorial programme, χ2 analysis of the data demonstrated that the relationship between participation in the tutorial programme and performance on examinations reached statistical significance. The results suggested that an open peer tutorial programme responded to the needs, both cognitive and affective, of medical students.
Treatment of fibrosis in nonalcoholic fatty liver disease

Nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) is one of the most common liver disorders in North America. The mechanism of liver injury in NASH involves insulin resistance and oxidative stress as well as cytokine release. Therapeutic interventions aimed at enhancing insulin sensitivity or reducing oxidative stress have been studied. The role of peptide hormones secreted by adipose tissue—adipocytokines—in the potential pathogenesis of NASH is an area of intense research. As the function of adipokines in modulating hepatic inflammation and fibrosis is elucidated, the potential for novel treatment strategies in patients with NASH is likely to be realized.
Measurement of Charge Exchange between H 2 and Low-Energy Ions with Charge States 35<=q <=80

Charge-exchange cross sections for collisions between ${\mathrm{H}}_{2}$ and ions with unusually low center-of-mass energies (\ensuremath{\approx}6 eV) and high-charge states (${\mathrm{Xe}}^{q+}:35, 43\ensuremath{\le}q\ensuremath{\le}46$, ${\mathrm{Th}}^{q+}:73\ensuremath{\le}q\ensuremath{\le}80$) have been measured using a Penning ion trap. A nondestructive measurement technique permitted both primary and product ion analysis. The data, averaged over the charge states indicated above, are consistent with a total cross section that scales linearly with ion charge $q$. The true double-capture cross section is found to be about 25% of the total cross section at high $q$. The results are compared to predictions of the absorbing-sphere model.
The dialectic of substance: Rhetoric vs poetry

Distinguishing between rhetorical and poetic forms of symbolic action, derived from the works of Kenneth Burke, this essay finds the substance of each in identification/division and in the power of entitlement. Whereas the symbolic power of poetry arises from acts of identification/division apparent within the text, the symbolic power of rhetoric arises from the acts of identification/division that extend beyond the text, implicating auditors in the action that appears there. Distinctive responses result from the unique understanding required of each form of symbolic action.
A UML profile for State Analysis

State Analysis is a systems engineering methodology for the specification and design of control systems, developed at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory. The methodology emphasizes an analysis of the system under control in terms of States and their properties and behaviors and their effects on each other, a clear separation of the control system from the controlled system, cognizance in the control system of the controlled system's State, goal-based control built on constraining the controlled system's States, and disciplined techniques for State discovery and characterization.
Corrections to ocean surface forcing in the California Current System using 4D variational data assimilation

Abstract The option for surface forcing correction, recently developed in the 4D-variational (4DVAR) data assimilation systems of the Regional Ocean Model System (ROMS), is presented. Assimilation of remotely-sensed (satellite sea surface height anomaly and sea surface temperature) and in situ (from mechanical and expendable bathythermographs, Argo floats and CTD profiles) oceanic observations has been applied in a realistic, high resolution configuration of the California Current System (CCS) to sequentially correct model initial conditions and surface forcing, using the Incremental Strong constraint version of ROMS-4DVAR (ROMS-IS4DVAR). Results from both twin and real data experiments are presented where it is demonstrated that ROMS-IS4DVAR always reduces the difference between the model and the observations that are assimilated. However, without corrections to the surface forcing, the assimilation of surface data can degrade the temperature structure at depth. When using surface forcing adjustment in ROMS-IS4DVAR the system does not degrade the temperature structure at depth, because differences between the model and surface observations can be reduced through corrections to surface forcing rather than to temperature at depth. However, corrections to surface forcing can generate abnormal spatial and temporal variability in the structure of the wind stress or surface heat flux fields if not properly constrained. This behavior can be partially controlled via the choice of decorrelation length scales that are assumed for the forcing errors. Abnormal forcing corrections may also arise due to the effects of model error which are not accounted for in IS4DVAR. In particular, data assimilation tends to weaken the alongshore wind stress in an attempt to reduce the rate of coastal upwelling, which seems to be too strong due to other sources of error. However, corrections to wind stress and surface heat flux improve systematically the ocean state analyses. Trends in the correction of surface heat fluxes indicate that, given the ocean model used and its potential limitations, the heat flux data from the Coupled Ocean–Atmosphere Mesoscale Prediction System (COAMPS) used to impose surface conditions in the model are generally too low except in spring-summer, in the upwelling region, where they are too high. Comparisons with independent data provide confidence in the resulting forecast ocean circulation on timescales ∼14 days, with less than 1.5 °C, 0.3 psu, and 9 cm RMS error in temperature, salinity and sea surface height anomaly, respectively, compared to observations.
Ecological hazard/risk assessment: lessons learned and new directions

A series of workshops held in the 1970s and 1980s, beginning at the University of Michigan Biological Station near Pellston, Michigan (and thus called the Pellston Series), focused on identifying the basic tenets of ecological hazard/risk assessment. The purpose of this discussion, produced roughly two decades after the first Pellston workshop, is to examine the impacts of this series on the development of the ecological hazard/risk assessment process, to explore some barriers hindering the development of this process, and suggest some new directions and challenges yet unaddressed by any of the workshop series. Probably the most important factor identified since the series of workshops began is persuasive circumstantial evidence that the learning process proceeds at different rates for individuals and institutions both in the government and private sectors, including academe. Evidence presently available suggests that individuals are frequently two or three decades ahead of institutions, and some individuals have already rejected paradigms generally accepted by the profession and are developing new ones. The major contribution of the workshops to the profession was connecting toxicity with environmental fate and transformation of chemicals and thus, bioavailability. Astonishingly, before the first Pellston workshop, this now-obvious connection did not play a dominant role in the peer-reviewed professional literature or in government documents, although the indefatigable investigator could find some minor indications that some professionals were aware of the importance of these relationships. Major suggestions for new directions and challenges focus on: (1) an emphasis on ecosystem health or condition rather than on mere absence of deleterious effects; (2) entering the information age requires that the type of information discussed here be integrated with and related to the broader array of other types of information used in making decisions at the societal or system level — failure to do so will mean that hazard/risk information will have little or no impact; (3) restoration ecology must emerge as a field of considerable importance because inevitably some estimates of hazard/risk will be inaccurate and damage will be done to ecosystems, which must then be repaired; (4) for all of this to function, environmental literacy must be markedly improved over its present level.
Hormonal modulation of gap junctions in rat ovarian follicles.

Homocellular gap junctions between granulosa cells and between theca interna cells, and heterocellular gap junctions between granulosa cells and oocytes persist in rat ovarian follicles for as long as 90 days following hypophysectomy. Gonadotrophic and/or steroid hormones are therefore not required for the maintenance of gap junctions between these cells during early follicular growth. However, replacement therapy with estrogen and human chorionic gonadotrophin results in amplification of gap junctions in granulosa and theca interna cells respectively. Within 24 h following hormonal stimulation, growth of gap junctions is characterized by the appearance of formation plaques as observed in freeze-fracture replicas and by the association of microfilamentous material located subadjacent to gap junction membrane observable in thin-sectioned cells.
Training the next generation of biomedical researchers: challenges and opportunities.

We have entered an era of great excitement and challenge in the life sciences, in which scientific knowledge is changing and accruing rapidly. Many new areas of study, including functional genomics, tissue engineering, and bioinformatics, are being pursued with increasingly powerful techniques, and they present extraordinary opportunities for improving our understanding of health and disease. Safe and effective approaches for translating these multidisciplinary efforts into clinically relevant advances will require careful evaluation by highly trained clinical investigators. To make the most of these opportunities, new approaches and competencies will be required of the next generation of researchers who, more than ever before, will need to be familiar with diverse scientific disciplines and be able to collaborate with scientists skilled in those disciplines. Yet, we currently face major challenges in attracting the best minds to academic biomedical research and in retaining them. This is due, in part, to the wealth of opportunities available in other pursuits and, in part, to the expansion of knowledge and capabilities required of today’s investigators. The latter has led to an ever-increasing duration of training, which can exceed the patience and resources of multi-year trainees who already carry substantial burdens of debt. The next generation of independent, creative investigators (and the scientific mentors they will eventually become) is thus at significant risk; shortages in fields such as biostatistics, computational biology, and clinical research are already becoming acute. Major innovations may now be needed in our approaches to recruiting, educating, training, retraining, and retaining the future research work force. Changes in the nature, as well as the content, of training will likely be called for to encompass broader disciplines and to foster appreciation for multidisciplinary collaborative research and facility in conducting it. With these imperatives in mind, the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) recently undertook …
Why they choose and how it goes: Comparing special education and general education cyber student perceptions

Abstract While critics offer concerns that cyber charter schools under-enroll special education students, such schools may offer advantages for these students, and some cyber schools have identified this market niche. Little is known about such schools. We surveyed parents (n = 232; 48.7% response rate) and students (n = 269; 53.7% response rate) at a cyber charter school that we will call SunTech, where special education students account for 26% of the student body. Findings indicate that special education students and their parents were more likely than general education peers to mention behavioral issues as influencing their decision to choose SunTech. Compared to general education counterparts, special education students and parents reported somewhat higher levels of satisfaction in the school and somewhat lower levels of satisfaction in their prior schools. Implications are discussed.
Nanoscale near-field infrared spectroscopic imaging of silica-shell/gold-core and pure silica nanoparticles

Spectroscopic near-field imaging of single silica-shell/Au-core and pure silica nanoparticles deposited on a silicon substrate is performed in the infrared wavelength range (λ = 9–11 μm) using scattering-type scanning near-field optical microscopy (s-SNOM). By tuning the wavelength of the incident light, we have acquired information on the spectral phonon–polariton resonant near-field interactions of the silica-shell/Au-core and pure silica nanoparticles with the probing tip. We made use of the enhanced near-field coupling between the high index Au-core and the probing tip to achieve spectral near-field contrast of the thin silica coating (thickness < 10 nm). Our results show that spectroscopic imaging of thin coating layers and complex core–shell nanoparticles can be directly performed by s-SNOM.