cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Verilog — A Tutorial Introduction

Digital systems are highly complex. At their most detailed level, they may consist of millions of elements, as would be the case if we viewed a system as a collection of logic gates or pass transistors. From a more abstract viewpoint, these elements may be grouped into a handful of functional components such as cache memories, floating point units, signal processors, or real-time controllers. Hardware description languages have evolved to aid in the design of systems with this large number of elements and wide range of electronic and logical abstractions.
33 Imaging of Biliary Disorders: Cholecystitis, Bile Duct Obstruction, Stones, and Stricture

Cholescintigraphy is significantly more accurate than ultrasonography in the diagnosis of acute calculous cholecystitis (ACC) (strong evidence).There is no one highly accurate test for the diagnosis of acute acalculous cholecystitis (AAC) (moderate evidence).Cholecystokinin stimulated cholescintigraphy is very helpful in the diagnosis of chronic acalculous cholecystitis (CAC) and is predictive of symptom relief after cholecystectomy (strong evidence).Magnetic resonance cholangiopancreatography (MRCP) and endoscopic ultrasonography (EUS) are superior to ultrasonography in visualizing the whole of the bile duct, and establishing the level of bile duct obstruction (strong evidence).Patients with a high likelihood of choledocholithiasis based on clinical, laboratory, and ultrasonography findings should proceed directly to therapeutic endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP) without further cholangiographic studies (strong evidence).Magnetic resonance cholangiopancreatography is useful in the diagnosis of bile duct obstruction and in directing further patient management (moderate evidence).Endoscopic ultrasound and MRCP have a complementary role in the comprehensive evaluation of patients with bile duct stricture (moderate evidence).
Endoscopy in the diagnosis of intestinal graft‐versus‐host disease: Is lower endoscopy with biopsy as effective in diagnosis as upper endoscopy combined with lower endoscopy?

Background Graft-versus-host disease (GvHD) causes morbidity and mortality in recipients of hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (SCT). This study assessed the distribution of GvHD in gastrointestinal (GI) biopsies from the upper and lower GI tract in pediatric patients who had undergone SCT and evaluated if there was correlation between biopsy findings and possible extra-intestinal manifestations of GvHD. Procedure We performed a retrospective chart review for all patients diagnosed with GvHD, who underwent both upper and lower endoscopy. We also reviewed pathology and clinical reports to determine which biopsy sites were diagnostic of GvHD and to evaluate for the possible presence of extra-intestinal manifestations GvHD at the time of biopsy. Results Twenty patients were identified who had undergone both upper and lower endoscopy for evaluation of GvHD. Patients with GvHD diagnosed on upper endoscopy also had GvHD identified in the sigmoid colon region 100% of the time (positive predictive value [PPV] = 1). In patients that were found to have underlying liver disease, GvHD was diagnosed in the sigmoid colon region 90% of the time (PPV = 0.9). Conclusion Use of sigmoid biopsy for GvHD diagnosis is effective, safe, and less expensive compared to other endoscopic interventions. Pediatr Blood Cancer 2013;60:1798–1800. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Democratic Legitimacy by Excluding All Those Affected - The Democratic Case for Constitutional Courts

Liberal democratic regimes typically contain many institutions which are neither directly elected, nor accountable to the electorate. However, many such institutions (like central banks, regulatory agencies and most notoriously constitutional courts and their power of judicial review) enjoy substantial policy-setting power in high-stakes policy domains. Democratic theory has found itself at a loss to account for such institutions as a legitimate part of a democratic regime. After all, democratic legitimacy is widely taken to require the inclusion of 'all those affected' in the decision-making process. Institutions with the ability to affect the lives of citizens in fundamental ways, but which are systematically isolated from electoral pressures would consequently seem to be incompatible with democracy. However, such institutions are not only a prevalent feature of democratic regimes worldwide, they also enjoy far greater public confidence and their decisions have greater perceived legitimacy than institutions under direct electoral control. Such independent institutions have typically been justified either by non-democratic reasons (such as the necessity of efficiency, stability, or of reliably protecting other normative goods like e.g. fundamental rights), or by making obviously false claims in order to establish their legitimacy within the standard paradigm of democratic legitimacy as inclusion of all those affected. I argue that such independent institutions can indeed be properly justified from within democratic theory, but it requires us to accept impartiality as a second source of democratic legitimacy. Democracy requires decision-by-stakeholders (or their representatives), while impartiality demands that stakeholders be excluded from decision-making. I argue that it has falsely been assumed that the ideals of impartial and democratic decision-making must be at odds with each other. Excluding 'all those affected' as required by the ideal of impartiality must not necessarily be anti-democratic. I analyze the various critiques of impartiality and demonstrate that the rejection of impartiality is based on importing an unmodified ethical concept into political theory. When properly understood as a formal concept (namely as the demand to treat equal cases equally), impartiality is fully compatible with democracy. I conclude that a committed democrat can indeed recognize as legitimate not only stakeholder-including but also stakeholder-excluding institutions.
New Quaternary Chalcogenides BaLnMQ3 (Ln - Rare Earth; M = Cu, Ag; Q = S, Se): I. Structures and Grinding-Induced Phase Transition in BaLaCuQ3

The new quaternary compounds BaLaCuQ3 (Q = S, Se) have been synthesized by the reaction of the constituent binary chalcogenides and elements at 1000°C. The crystal structures have been determined by X-ray diffraction techniques. Crystal data: BaLaCuS3—space group D162h-Pnma, M = 435.97, Z = 4, a = 11.316(2), b = 4.236(1), c = 11.724(2) A (T = 115 K), V = 562.0(2) A3, Rw (F2) = 0.059 for 1051 observations and 38 variables, R(F) = 0.019 for 1037 observations having F20 > 2σ,(F20); BaLaCuSe3—space group D16-Pnma, M = 576.67, Z = 4, a = 11.111(4), b = 4.293(2), c = 13.830(4) A, (T = 115 K), V = 659.7(4) A3, Rw(F2) = 0.129 for 1385 observations and 38 variables, R(F) = 0.050 for 1313 observations having F20 > 2σ-(F20). The BaLaCuS3 structure has a three-dimensional framework with channels that accommodate barium ions. The lanthanum atoms have mono-capped trigonal prismatic coordination and the copper atoms have tetrahedral coordination. BaLaCuSe3 crystallizes into two phases, an α phase that is isostructural with BaLaCuS3 and a layered β phase that is isostructural with Eu2CuS3. The layers, which are separated by Ba2+ ions, consist of edge-sharing octahedral chains and corner-sharing tetrahedral chains. The two structures are closely related and β-BaLaCuSe3 undergoes a phase transformation to α-BaLaCuSe3 upon mechanical grinding. The reverse phase transition occurs when α-BaLaCuSe3 is annealed at elevated temperatures.
The effects of a fee-waiver program on health care utilization among the poor : evidence from Armenia

This study examines the impact of a fee-waiver program for basic medical services on health care utilization in Armenia. Because of the reduction in public financing of health services and decentralization and increased privatization of health care provision, private out-of-pocket contributions are increasingly becoming a significant component of health costs in Armenia. To help poor families cope with this constraint, the Armenian government provided a free-of-charge basic package service to eligible individuals in vulnerable groups, such as the disabled and children from single parent households. Drawing on the 1996 and 1998-99 Armenia Integrated Survey of Living Standards (AISLS), which allows the identification of eligible individuals under this program, the authors estimate the impact of the fee-waiver program on utilization of health services, particularly among the poor. Across the two survey rounds utilization rates have indeed declined despite comparable levels of income, and this decline has occurred among both the poor and the rich, with average utilization falling by 12 percent between the two surveys. But families with four or more children, the largest beneficiary group under the vulnerable population program, have decreased their use of health care services in a disproportionate manner - 21 percent reduction in use between the two survey rounds. This precipitous drop in health care use by this vulnerable group, despite being eligible for free medical services, suggests that the program was inadequate in stemming the decline in the use of health services. The authors further present evidence to suggest that the free-of-charge eligibility program acts more like an income transfer mechanism, particularly to disabled individuals. This paper - a joint product of Public Services, Development Research Group, and the Human Development Sector Unit, Europe and Central Asia Region - is part of a larger effort in the Bank to understand the impact of health sector reform on health care utilization and poverty.
Comparison of the composition of arterial, venous, and capillary blood of the fetal monkey during labor

Abstract The composition of blood obtained simultaneously from the carotid artery, jugular vein, and capillary bed of the scalp of the fetal rhesus monkey during labor revealed good correlation between the corresponding values of pH, Pco 2 , Po 2 , and red cell concentration. The agreement was good not only with the fetus in a normal acid-base state, but also under conditions of severe asphyxia. The mean of the differences between the pH of capillary and venous blood was 0.017 and that between capillary and arterial blood was −0.047.
Coelostat and heliostat: Theory of alignment

For perfectly aligned heliostats and coelostats tracking at the solar rate and half the solar rate, respectively, the solar beam has no translational motion. But, particularly in the field at eclipses, it is not possible to align heliostats and coelostats with infinite precision. We derive the effect of small misalignments on the translational motion of the beam, and give tables to allow the calculation of the accuracy to which the instruments must be mounted and adjusted to attain a desired accuracy over a given duration. Further, we show how to derive the necessary adjustments to improve alignment, given measurements of the tracking error.
Evidence for cooperation between cells during sporulation of the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae.

Abstract Diploid Saccharomyces cerevisiae cells heterozygous for the mating type locus (MATa/MAT alpha) undergo meiosis and sporulation when starved for nitrogen in the presence of a poor carbon source such as potassium acetate. Diploid yeast adenine auxotrophs sporulated well at high cell density (10(7) cells per ml) under these conditions but failed to differentiate at low cell density (10(5) cells per ml). The conditional sporulation-deficient phenotype of adenine auxotrophs could be complemented by wild-type yeast cells, by medium from cultures that sporulate at high cell density, or by exogenously added adenine (or hypoxanthine with some mutants). Adenine and hypoxanthine in addition to guanine, adenosine, and numerous nucleotides were secreted into the medium, each in its unique temporal pattern, by sporulating auxotrophic and prototrophic yeast strains. The major source of these compounds was degradation of RNA. The data indicated that differentiating yeast cells cooperate during sporulation in maintaining sufficiently high concentrations of extracellular purines which are absolutely required for sporulation of adenine auxotrophs. Yeast prototrophs, which also sporulated less efficiently at low cell density (10(3) cells per ml), reutilized secreted purines in preference to de novo-made purine nucleotides whose synthesis was in fact inhibited during sporulation at high cell density. Adenine enhanced sporulation of yeast prototrophs at low cell density. The behavior of adenine auxotrophs bearing additional mutations in purine salvage pathway genes (ade apt1, ade aah1 apt1, ade hpt1) supports a model in which secretion of degradation products, uptake, and reutilization of these products is a signal between cells synchronizing the sporulation process.
Characterization of Excess Deoxyribonucleic Acid Synthesized by Pneumococci in the Presence of Polyadenylic Acid and Deoxyribonucleic Acid Precursors

Excess deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) synthesized by cell suspensions of encapsulated pneumococci in the presence of polyadenylic acid plus all eight of the naturally occurring deoxyribonucleosides and deoxyribonucleotides has been characterized in several ways. The DNA represents complete molecules, is synthesized by a relatively large population at a steady rate, and is replicated in a semiconservative manner.
Leaves of grass: focusing phenomics on maize leaf growth.

The detailed analysis of leaf growth dynamics, when coupled with transcriptomic research, can facilitate the discovery of genes required for leaf elongation. Please see related Research article: http://www.genomebiology.com/2015/16/1/168
Near-infrared scattering spectrum differences between benign and malignant breast tumors measured in vivo with diffuse tomography

Near-infrared spectral tomographic imaging was used to show that a statistically significant difference exists in the spectral scattering power and amplitude between a group of benign (n=7) and malignant (n=6) tumor tissues imaged in vivo.
Practical considerations on the use of predictive models for regulatory purposes.

Interest in the use of quantitative structure−activity relationships (QSARs) for regulatory purposes has been growing steadily over the years, and many models have been evaluated under the guidance...
SI-CMOS-MEMS dual mass resonator for extracting mass and spring variations

This paper presents Si-CMOS-MEMS dual mass resonators (DMRs) which are fabricated using Si-CMOS-MEMS technology for extracting mass and spring variations. The CMOS chip is fabricated in BiCMOS 0.35 μm process from Jazz Semiconductor. 0.2 μm flatness of the backside silicon over 1.5 mm distance is achieved. The Si-CMOS-MEMS DMR includes proof masses, serpentine spring suspensions and comb fingers and serves as the basic structure for a z-axis differential gimbaled gyroscope. The DMR enables the extraction of process variations by comparing measured frequency response with a geometrically parameterized system-level simulation of the DMR. A model-based methodology is proposed to extract mass and spring variations. Three parameters including in-phase displacement, anti-phase displacement and the difference in displacement between two proof masses in anti-phase mode are chosen to extract the geometrical process variation parameters. The variation between the dual masses is approximately 1.2-1.5% and the spring variation is 3.1%.
Neurologist's Role in Understanding Violence

Violence is one of the major public health problems in the United States today. Twenty thousand deaths per annum, the majority involving firearms, are the result of the intentional violence of one person toward another. Violence is the leading cause of death among young black males whose homicide rates are up to 142 per 100 000. Annually, there are four to six million rapes, two million cases of child abuse, and two to four million wife batterings. 1-4 Pari passu with this, and possibly contributing to it, the American family structure has deteriorated. In 1950,17% of black births and 2% of white births were out of wedlock. Today, the figures are 66% and 16%, respectively. 5 Is there a role for a neurologist in the understanding, treatment, and prevention of violence? In the sense that all behavior derives from brain activity and abnormal behavior from abnormal brain activity, neurologists may
Lipemia and glomerular lesions in rats fed diets containing N-N'-diacetyl- and 4, 4-4', 4'-tetramethylbenzidine.

SummaryLipemia and a glomerular lesion consisting of many fat filled spaces in the glomerular tuft appeared in from 2-4.5 months in Buffalo-strain rats fed diets containing N-N′-diacetylbenzidine and 4,4-4′, 4′-tetramethylbenzidine. No similar lesions were found in two strains of mice ingesting diets containing these two chemicals.
Grafted polymer tail/loop mixtures differing in chain length

Abstract Studies examining the structure of monolayers formed by polymer chains grafted to a surface typically focus on chains attached at one end (tails). Bond fluctuation simulations are performed here to probe monolayers composed of equimolar mixtures of tails and double-grafted loops in which the looped chain length (Nloop) is varied at constant surface density and tail length (Ntail). Loops force the tails to adopt an extended trajectory normal to the surface, resulting in monolayer stratification. As Nloop increases, the height of the tail sublayer increases to a maximum, and then decreases to converge with the loop sublayer as Nloop→2Ntail. These results are compared to predictions from a self-consistent field theory for bidisperse mixtures of grafted tails.
β-Arrestin-biased Agonism at the β2-Adrenergic Receptor

Classically, the beta 2-adrenergic receptor (beta 2AR) and other members of the seven-transmembrane receptor (7TMR) superfamily activate G protein-dependent signaling pathways in response to ligand stimulus. It has recently been discovered, however, that a number of 7TMRs, including beta 2AR, can signal via beta-arrestin-dependent pathways independent of G protein activation. It is currently unclear if among beta 2AR agonists there exist ligands that disproportionately signal via G proteins or beta-arrestins and are hence "biased." Using a variety of approaches that include highly sensitive fluorescence resonance energy transfer-based methodologies, including a novel assay for receptor internalization, we show that the majority of known beta 2AR agonists exhibit relative efficacies for beta-arrestin-associated activities (beta-arrestin membrane translocation and beta 2AR internalization) identical to the irrelative efficacies for G protein-dependent signaling (cyclic AMP generation). However, for three betaAR ligands there is a marked bias toward beta-arrestin signaling; these ligands stimulate beta-arrestin-dependent receptor activities to a much greater extent than would be expected given their efficacy for G protein-dependent activity. Structural comparison of these biased ligands reveals that all three are catecholamines containing an ethyl substitution on the alpha-carbon, a motif absent on all of the other, unbiased ligands tested. Thus, these studies demonstrate the potential for developing a novel class of 7TMR ligands with a distinct bias for beta-arrestin-mediated signaling.
Estrogens Decrease Reperfusion-Associated Cortical Ischemic Damage An MRI Analysis in a Transient Focal Ischemia Model

Background and Purpose—Early identification of irreversible cerebral ischemia is critical in defining strategies that influence neuronal survival after stroke. We used MRI to investigate the effect...
Font and Function Word Identification in Document Recognition

An algorithm is presented that identifies the predominant font in which the running text in an English language document is printed. Frequent function words (such asthe,of,and,a, andto) are also recognized as part of the font identification. Clusters of word images are generated from an input document and matched to a database of function words derived from fonts and document images. The font or document that matches best provides the identification of the predominant font and function words. This technique takes advantage of the fact that most machine-printed documents are prepared with a single predominant font. Also, the repeated words in the document are utilized to overcome noise in the input. Advantages of this technique include its use as a preprocessing step for a document recognition algorithm. Experimental results show high accuracy is achieved on a database of original and degraded document images.
Effects of muscimol inactivation of the cerebellar interposed-dentate nuclear complex on the performance of the nictitating membrane response in the rabbit

Intracranial microinjections of the GABAA agonist muscimol were used to assess the involvement of the dentato-interposed cerebellar nuclear complex in the performance of the conditioned (CR) and unconditioned (UR) nictitating membrane responses in the rabbit. Specifically, the experiments test the hypothesis that the cerebellar nuclei are involved in the performance of both the CRs and URs. The experiments employed temporary nuclear lesions to disrupt the CRs in order to examine parallel effects on URs. Animals were conditioned in a standard delay conditioning paradigm. Injection sites at which the muscimol application disrupted execution of the CRs were identified in each rabbit. Once these sites were found, the effects of muscimol and saline injections were evaluated while alternating paired trials with unpaired trials in which only the unconditioned stimuli were applied. There are two main findings in the present study. First, the activation of the GABAA receptors in the dentato-interposed cerebellar nuclear region reduced the amplitude and increased the latency of the UR. This change in the UR closely paralleled the disruption of the CR. This observation is consistent with the notion that the cerebellum is involved in the regulation of defensive flexion reflexes. Second, cerebellar nuclear inactivation did not eliminate the tone-induced enhancement of the UR. This finding suggests the presence of cerebellum-independent circuits subserving the intermodal interaction between the conditioned and unconditioned stimuli.
Shareholder Coordination Costs, Shark Repellents, and Takeout Mergers: The Case Against Fiduciary Duties

When a bidding corporation succeeds in obtaining voting control of a target corporation through a hostile tender offer, many commentators argue that it is unfair to allow the bidder to exercise its voting power to set the price terms of a second-step takeout merger in which the bidder purchases the shares of the remaining target shareholders. This concern is inappropriate because it treats a unitary acquisition between adversaries as if it were two separate transactions–the second of which involves abuse of power by fiduciaries–and also because it assumes that shareholders of the target corporation are incapable of protecting themselves from the power of a successful bidder. Moreover, imposition of fiduciary rules may impose either prohibitive costs or absolute barriers to some takeovers, even if such transactions would be wealth producing. While there is a risk that some takeovers may exploit the “prisoner's dilemma” facing target shareholders threatened with an unattractive takeout threat, target shareholders are capable of responding to that threat with devices to coordinate their response. So-called “shark repellent” amendments that raise the proportion of votes required to approve second-step mergers or that limit the terms of such mergers can function as coordination devices to alleviate the prisoner's dilemma. Commentators' fears that such devices may unduly burden the market for corporate control appear to depend to a large extent on unfounded assumptions that all takeovers are wealth producing and that takeovers are never motivated by potential gains flowing from exploitation of the lack of coordination among target shareholders. However, empirical studies indicate that adoption of such coordination rules can benefit target shareholders and that it is unlikely that shareholders will approve voting rules so restrictive that they would preclude wealth-creating acquisitions. The usual notions of shareholder apathy are simply inapplicable to takeout mergers.
Heterokaryosis inCochliobolus heterostrophus

Abstract Heterokaryons of Cochliobolus heterostrophus (= Bipolaris maydis = Helminthosporium maydis = Drechslera maydis ) formed when complementing auxotrophs were paired on minimal medium. The growth rate of each heterokaryon was influenced by the nutritional requirement of each partner. Mycelium of complementary colonies was composed of a mixture of homokaryotic and heterokaryotic cells. On minimal agar medium hyphal tips of colonies were homokaryotic whereas cells behind the colony front were heterokaryotic; conidia formed by the heterokaryotic colonies were 99.2% homokaryotic (approximately 50% of the homokaryotic conidia were of each component type) and 0.8% heterokaryotic. All conidia from a single conidiophore had the same genotype. In minimal liquid culture 73% of the mycelial fragments (two to four cells per fragment), and 10% of the protoplasts isolated from mycelial cells were heterokaryotic. Proportions of component nuclei were approximately equal in all heterokaryotic cells. Heterokaryons were resolved on complete medium and in infected corn plants to yield nearly equal numbers of each component type. Neither diploids nor parasexual recombinants were found. Interspecific complementation did not occur between C. heterostrophus and either C. carbonum or C. sativus although both of the latter species complemented intraspecifically.
Trial of low doses of aspirin as prophylaxis insickle cell disease

The effects of low doses of aspirin on the frequency and severity of painful vaso-occlusive crises wereevaluated in children with sickle hemoglobinopathies. Aspirin was compared with placebo in 49 patients in a double-blind crossover study. Careful monitoring of patients revealed an average of 1.1 painful crises per patient year. During the 21 months of study, 70% of patients had a maximum of two painful crises, and 25% experienced four or more. The frequency and severity of crises were not affected by aspirin therapy. In view of aspirin's demonstrated effect on platelet function, we suggest that platelets do not contribute to the initiation or progression of the vaso-occlusive process.
An exploration of salivation patterns in normal weight and obese children.

Abstract We examined whether children’s changes in salivary habituation to food vary based on weight status and/or allocating attention to a task. Children (31 non-overweight and 26 obese, ages 9–12 year) were presented with nine trials of a food stimulus and either listened to an audiobook (attention-demanding) or white noise (no-attention control). The salivary pattern differed significantly by weight status but not by condition or a condition by weight status interaction. This is the first study of salivary habituation in obese children; findings dovetail with an emerging set of evidence that obese individuals display distinctive biological responses to food.
Can seqlocks get along with programming language memory models

Seqlocks are an important synchronization mechanism and represent a significant improvement over conventional reader-writer locks in some contexts. They avoid the need to update a synchronization variable during a reader critical section, and hence improve performance by avoiding cache coherence misses on the lock object itself. Unfortunately, they rely on speculative racing loads inside the critical section. This makes them an interesting problem case for programming-language-level memory models that emphasize data-race-free programming. We analyze a variety of implementation alternatives within the C++11 memory model, and briefly address the corresponding issue in Java. In the process, we observe that there may be a use for "read-dont-modify-write" operations, i. e. read-modify-write operations that atomically write back the original value, without modifying it, solely for the memory model consequences, and that it may be useful for compilers to optimize such operations.
Expression of a germline human kappa chain-associated cross-reactive idiotype after in vitro and in vivo infection with Epstein-Barr virus

The mouse monoclonal antibody 17.109 recognizes a cross-reactive idiotype (CRI) associated with kappa IIIb light chains of human IgM-rheumatoid factor (RF) paraproteins. The 17.109 idiotypic determinant is encoded by one or a group of closely related V kappa genes. The association of the idiotype with IgM- and IgA-rheumatoid factors in certain autoimmune diseases necessitates an understanding of how human B lymphocytes can be induced to express the idiotype. To investigate the cellular expression of the 17.109 CRI, peripheral blood lymphocytes from normal donors were stimulated in vitro with Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) and pokeweed mitogen (PWM). EBV induced greater expression of IgM-associated 17.109 CRI than did PWM. The 17.109 CRI was preferentially associated with IgM rather than with IgG. In vivo EBV infection was studied in college students with infectious mononucleosis and displayed similar elevation of IgM-associated 17.109 CRI in sera obtained at presentation of clinical illness. Later, IgM levels declined while IgG-associated 17.109 CRI rose. The 17.109 idiotype was unrelated to antibodies against the Epstein-Barr virus nuclear antigen and the viral capsid antigen and was probably due to generalized activation of early B cells. These observations support the hypothesis that the 17.109 CRI is expressed by in vitro and in vivo EBV-infected cells. The 17.109 idiotype identifies a highly conserved V kappa gene product, which is expressed preferentially after EBV infection, but not exclusively with RF autoantibodies.
A stochastic model of the HIV epidemic for heterosexual transmission involving married couples and prostitutes: II. The chain multinomial model of the HIV epidemic

This is a follow-up paper of Tan and Zhu [1] in which we have considered a large population consisting of single males, single females, married couples, and prostitutes. For assessing effects of risk factors on the HIV epidemic by heterosexual transmission and the role of prostitutes in this paper, we have developed chain multinomial models for the HIV epidemic in these populations. Through Monte Carlo studies, we have shown that prostitutes form a stepping stone for the HIV epidemic by heterosexual transmission. Among the risk factors affecting HIV prevalence, our numerical results have indicated that the frequency of condom use is the most important factor followed by the number of sexual partners per unit time. Thus, promoting condom use among prostitutes may serve as a major avenue to control the spread of HIV through heterosexual transmission.
Clothing hanger injuries: pediatric head and neck traumas in the United States, 2002-2012.

ObjectiveTo discuss pediatric clothing hanger injuries and review the National Electronic Injury Surveillance System to elucidate frequency and promote increased public awareness among pediatric otolaryngologists.Study DesignCross-sectional analysis of a national database.Study SettingNational Electronic Injury Surveillance System Database.MethodsA retrospective review of the National Electronic Injury Surveillance System provided a nationally weighted sampling estimate of 394 pediatric incident reports involving clothing hangers. Each incident report was analyzed for impalement, facial laceration, and contusion injuries to the mouth, face, and head. In addition, hospital disposition and location of the described incident were also obtained.ResultsUpon review of the National Electronic Injury Surveillance System, incident rates of pediatric oral impalement (95% confidence interval [CI], 0.10-0.41), facial laceration (95% CI, 0.22-0.41), and facial abrasion injuries (95% CI, 0.15-0.44) frequently involved ...
Characterization of Highly Oxygenated and Environmentally Weathered Crude Oils by Liquid Chromatography Fourier Transform Ion Cyclotron Mass Spectrometry (FT-ICR MS)

Heavy and biodegraded oils exhibit an ever increasing oxygen complexity. Electrospray ionization (ESI) coupled to FT-ICR MS highlights the most acidic and basic oxygen species; however, quantitativ...
Exposure of firefighters to toxic air contaminants

A personal sampling apparatus for firefighters was developed to sample the fire atmosphere for CO, CO2, O2, NO2, HCI, HCN and particulate content. Two fire companies made ninety successful sample runs during structural fires. CO presented a potential acute hazard and particulate concentrations were high. HCN was detected at low levels in half the samples. HCI was detected in only eight samples but on two occasions exceeded 100 ppm. CO2 and NO2 levels and O2 depression do not appear to represent significant hazards.
Sarcopenia in older adults.

Purpose of review Sarcopenia, or the decline of skeletal muscle tissue with age, is one of the most important causes of functional decline and loss of independence in older adults. The purpose of this article is to review the current definitions of sarcopenia, its potential causes and clinical consequences, and the potential for intervention.
Primary structure of Drosophila ribosomal protein L14 and identification of conserved protein motifs.

Determination of the primary structure of individual ribosomal proteins is important for understanding their functions and organization within the ribosome. I have sequenced a cDNA that encodes a Drosophila homolog of the rat ribosomal protein L14. The cDNA sequence was 601 nucleotides long, with an open reading frame encoding a protein of 166 amino acids. Homology searches revealed 34-38% sequence identity to the rat and yeast L14 ribosomal proteins. There were also extensive homologies to sequences in the EST database, which are likely to encode portions of LI 4. Analysis of sequence comparisons revealed several highly conserved regions, one of which is related to a portion of ribosomal protein L27. The sizes of the L14 proteins vary between different species, with most of the variability confined to the C-terminal region.
Metaphor: the good, the bad and the ugly

Metaphor is a pervasive and important phenomenon, both in literature and in ordinary language. It is also an immensely variable phenomenon. The term 'metaphor' is often used to refer to nonliteral comparisons that are novel and vivid and that convey ideas that might otherwise be difficult to express (Ortony, 1975). But the term has also been used to refer to systems of extended meanings that are so familiar as to be almost invisible, such as the spatial metaphors 'soaring spirits' or 'falling GNP' (Lakoff & Johnson, 1979; Nagy, 1974). Even if we restrict ourselves to literary metaphors, there is still an enormous range of metaphor types, as shown in the following list:
Identification and quantitation of dietary and fecal neutral sterols by mass spectrometry

Abstract A procedure is described for the identification and quantitation of dietary and fecal neutral sterols by the combination of thin-layer chromatography, mass spectrometry and Liebermann-Burchard colorimetry. The neutral sterols in the diet and feces were extracted by the method of Ho and Taylor and Abell el al. respectively. The extracted neutral sterols were then further separated from other compounds by thin-layer chromatography with silica gel H as adsorbent and a solvent system composed of light petroleum:ethyl ether:glacial acetic acid ( 80:20:1 , by volume). The isolated neutral sterols consist of stigmastanol, sitosterol, stigmasterol, campesterol, coprostanol and cholesterol. The relative quantitaty of each sterol in such a mixture can be measured from its mass spectrum. Their relative absorbance of the Liebermann-Burchard reaction can also be determined. Thus, the absolute quantity of each individual neutral sterol in a mixture can be computed from the data obtained from the mass spectrum and colorimetry of the sample. The method is accurate and reproducible and of great value in the study of cholesterol metabolism when the diet and feces contain a variety of plant sterols.
Office based transurethral needle ablation of the prostate with analgesia and local anesthesia.

Purpose: We evaluated the efficacy and feasibility of performing office based transurethral needle ablation of the prostate with analgesia and local anesthesia.Materials and Methods: A total of 56 consecutive patients underwent transurethral needle ablation of the prostate for symptomatic benign prostatic hyperplasia. Oral rofecoxib (50 mg) and ciprofloxacin (250 mg) were administered before the procedure with 25 mg hydroxyzine and 50 to 100 mg meperidine intramuscularly. A combination of 2% lidocaine solution and jelly was used for anesthesia. Patients rated discomfort during anesthesia administration and the procedure using a 10-point scale of 0—no discomfort to 10—the worst pain/discomfort ever experienced in the patient life. Overall satisfaction with the procedure was assessed with a 4-point scale of 1—very satisfactory to 4—very unsatisfactory. Followup was 12 months for uroflow and 36 months for International Prostate Symptom Score.Results: The mean age of 47 patients was 65.4 years. Mean discomfor...
Evidence for schizophrenia as a disorder of neuroplasticity.

increase in thorny excrescences, which are associated with inputtothisregionviaspecializedunmyelinatedmossy fibers that originate from a different hippocampal subfield, the dentate gyrus. There were no changes in Golgi-stained structures in other parts of CA3, suggesting a complex pathophysiologywherespecificanatomicalcompartmentsofhippocampal subfields could be altered in relation to the pattern of afferent inputs(5). Supportingthishypothesis, other studieshave found changes in presynaptic markers in the hippocampus and its interconnected cortical regions in schizophrenia (10, 11). The authors’ data suggest a selective abnormality in ex
Extracellular polysaccharide of Erwinia chrysanthemi.

Abstract The extracellular polysaccharide (EPS) produced by E. chrysanthemi pv. zeae strain SR260, a strain pathogenic to corn, has a branched hexasaccharide repeat unit consisting of a glucomannorhamnan backbone [ → 3)-β- d - Glc p-(1 → 4)-α- d - Man p-(1 → 3)-α- l - Rha p-(1 → ] and a trisaccharide side-chain [ α- l - Rha p-(1 → 3)-α- l - Rha p-(1 → 4)?- GlcA p-(1 → ] attached to O-3 of the mannose in the backbone [1]. All the anomeric configurations, except that of the rhamnosyl-glucosyluronic linkage in the side chain, were unambiguously assigned by a combination of 1 and 2D NMR spectroscopy. The tentative assignment of the rhamnosyl-glucosyluronic glycosyl linkage as α- l is now proven.
Metrology With An Atomic Force Microscope

We describe applications of the atomic, magnetic, and electrostatic force microscopes (AFM, MFM and EFM), to metrology problems, especially profiling, magnetic field measurements and potentiometry. The force microscope has many advantages. It is capable of much higher lateral resolution than optics or low-voltage SEM, is nondestructive, operates in air, and does not require samples with special properties, such as electrical conductivity or extreme smoothness. By changing the tip-sample spacing, the speed/resolution tradeoff can be optimized for each application. The basic force probe consists of an L-shaped wire cantilever mounted on a piezoelectric bimorph which serves for terrain following and excitation. The wire is electro-etched to reduce its diameter and form a sharp tip. When the tip and sample are close together, the gradient of the force between them changes the effective spring constant (and thus the resonant frequency of the cantilever; the shift is detected as a changed response to a slightly off-resonance excitation. Force gradients of 10-4 N/m and force increments of 10-13N have been measured in this way, and the current lateral re-solution is 50A; there seems to be no fundamental impediment to achieving atomic resolution. The electrostatic force microscope is an AFM with a voltage applied to the tip. It makes possible potentiometry through nonconducting passivation layers. The magnetic force microscope (MFM) is very similar. It uses a steel wire tip to make magnetic images with a lateral resolution of better than 1000 A. which we hope to improve to 100 A. We present data illustrating usefulness of all these techniques in metrology problems.
Bioinformatic Tools for Inferring Functional Information from Plant Microarray Data: Tools for the First Steps

Microarrays are a very powerful tool for quantifying the amount of RNA in samples; however, their ability to query essentially every gene in a genome, which can number in the tens of thousands, presents analytical and interpretative problems. As a result, a variety of software and web-based tools have been developed to help with these issues. This article highlights and reviews some of the tools for the first steps in the analysis of a microarray study. We have tried for a balance between free and commercial systems. We have organized the tools by topics including image processing tools (Section 2), power analysis tools (Section 3), image analysis tools (Section 4), database tools (Section 5), databases of functional information (Section 6), annotation tools (Section 7), statistical and data mining tools (Section 8), and dissemination tools (Section 9).
Dynamics of runaway electrons in toroidal systems

A self-consistent model of the runaway electron acceleration process that includes electron drift orbits has been developed. Two new effects obtained by the analysis are a shrinkage of the beam radius with time and a limitation on the maximum attainable γ, γmax (Wce/Wpe)2, in such a beam. For the ORMAK runaway regime data, these results are minor corrections to a previously developed model which did not include drift orbits. However, for higher-energy-density runaway beams, the drift orbit effects may become more significant.
Seminormality properties of convex sets

In discussing Lagrange problems of optimal control for simple as well as for multiple integrals Cesari has introduced an upper semicontinuity property of variable sets called property (Q) which plays a role analogous to that of Tonelli's and McShane's concept, of seminormality for free problems of the calculus of variations. This paper deals with analytical criteria for property (Q) which is the unifying idea in the study of lower semicontinuity and lower closure with unbounded controls. In section 1 we state the concepts of seminormality, normality, and property (Q). In section 2 we establish new criteria for property (Q) in the particular situation whenf 0(t,x,u) is continuous and seminormal (or normal) andf(t,x,u) is linear in the variableu. In section 3 we consider the role of property (Q) for restricted sets. In section 4 we discuss the intermediate properties (Q p).
Olfaction and young children's preferences: a comparison of odor and visual cues.

This research compared the relative contributions of odor and visual cues in determining young children’s preferences. Thirty-two children were assigned randomly to one of four groups that differed in the order in which odorants and colors were presented. The children were tested in two sessions which differed in terms of the odorant concentrations (16 or 1,600 times threshold). On each occasion, the children were presented with four bottles which contained colored flowers (red, purple, orange, and yellow) and different odors (benzaldehyde, dimethyl disulfide, androstenone, and no odor). The children were asked to verbally indicate their odor preferences and then were asked to select the bottles they preferred. The results indicated that children failed to differen-tiate among the odors via self-report indices. At low concentrations, children’s behavioral preferences were significantly influenced by color (red and purple were most preferred, yellow and orange were least preferred), but not odor. At higher concentrations, children’s behavioral preferences were significantly influenced by odor (benzaldehyde most preferred, dimethyl disulfide least preferred), but not color. The results suggest that although there are general color preferences, children’s odor preferences depend on intensity. Issues relevant to future research are discussed.
Internet2 Distributed Storage Infrastructure (I2-DSI) project: improving global access to digital collections

The Internet2 Distributed Storage Infrastructure (I2-DSI) Project (http://dsi.internet2.edu/) [1] is developing a novel distributed network storage solution as part of Internet2 (http://www.internet2.edu) technical activities. Through the replication of application source objects to dedicated replication servers in the network, I2-DSI seeks to reduce the network distance between clients and servers and thereby address the performance challenges facing Internetbased applications. The approach will leverage current capabilities in mass storage and high-bandwidth wide-area networks to enable significant new applications today.
Preparation of RNA samples with narrow line widths for solid state NMR investigations.

Abstract Solid state NMR can provide detailed structural and dynamic information on biological systems that cannot be studied under solution conditions, and can investigate motions which occur with rates that cannot be fully studied by solution NMR. This approach has successfully been used to study proteins, but the application of multidimensional solid state NMR to RNA has been limited because reported line widths have been too broad to execute most multidimensional experiments successfully. A reliable method to generate spectra with narrow line widths is necessary to apply the full range of solid state NMR spectroscopic approaches to RNA. Using the HIV-1 transactivation response (TAR) RNA as a model, we present an approach based on precipitation with polyethylene glycol that improves the line width of 13C signals in TAR from >6 ppm to about 1 ppm, making solid state 2D NMR studies of selectively enriched RNAs feasible at ambient temperature.
The frequency and distribution of medium-sized neurons with indented nuclei in the primate and rodent neostriatum

Nuclear morphology is known to distinguish two classes of medium-sized neurons in the neostriatum, spiny projection neurons which have an unindented nucleus and aspiny interneurons which exhibit enfoldings of their nuclear envelope. The frequency and distribution of medium-sized neostriatal neurons with indented nuclei were examined in the light microscope in semi-thick sections. Results showed that the proportion of neostriatal neurons with nuclear indentations was greater in the monkey (23%) than in the mouse and rat (4-5%). Also, nuclear enfoldings were found in more neurons of the monkey caudate than putamen, whereas in the rodent regional differences were not observed. Findings suggest that aspiny interneurons play a greater role in the integrative and functional organization of the neostriatum in the primate than in the rodent brain.
Particulate contamination from glass

Abstract Thermal decomposition of glass produces spherical particles from about 10 −6 to more than 10 −5 cm in diameter which are resistant to annealing temperatures and readily soluble in water. Because this contamination readily occurs in glass systems, it has probably produced important effects in experiments on adsorption, vacuum breakdown, and microscopy of surfaces.