cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Self‐Reported Prescription Drug Use for Pain and for Sleep and Incident Frailty

Objectives We aimed to estimate incident frailty risks of prescription drugs for pain and for sleep in older US adults. Design Longitudinal cohort. Setting Health and Retirement Study. Participants Community-living respondents aged 65 years and older, excluding individuals who received recent treatment for cancer (N = 14 208). Our longitudinal analysis sample included respondents who were not frail at baseline and had at least one follow-up wave with complete information on both prescription drug use and frailty, or date of death (N = 7201). Measurements Prescription drug use for pain and sleep, sociodemographics, other drug and substance use, and Burden frailty model components. Multivariable drug use stratified hazard models with death as a competing risk evaluated frailty risks associated with co-use and single use of prescription drugs for pain and for sleep. Results Proportions endorsing prescription drug use were 22.1% for pain only, 6.8% for sleep only, and 7.7% for both indications. Burden frailty model prevalence was 41.0% and varied significantly by drug use. Among non-frail individuals at baseline, proportions endorsing prescription drug use were 14.9%, 5.6%, and 2.2% for the three indications. Prescription drug use was associated with increased risk of frailty (co-use adjusted subhazard ratio [sHR] = 1.95; 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.6-2.4; pain only adjusted sHR = 1.58; CI = 1.4-1.8; sleep-only adjusted sHR = 1.35; CI = 1.1-1.6; no use = reference group). Cumulative incidence of frailty over 8 years for the four groups was 60.6%, 50.9%, 45.8%, and 34.1%. Sensitivity analyses controlling for chronic diseases associated with persistent pain resulted in minor risk reductions. Conclusion Prescription pain and sleep drug use is significantly associated with increased incidence of frailty. Research to estimate effects of pain and sleep indications and of drug class-specific dosage and duration on incident frailty is indicated before advocating deprescribing based on these findings. J Am Geriatr Soc 67:2474-2481, 2019.
Ion Exchange of Layered α- Zirconium Phosphates and Functionalized Derivatives: Determination of Thickness and Percent Functionalization by Exchange

The ion exchange of α-zirconium phosphate (ZrP) nanoparticles, highly crystalline zirconium phosphates prepared by the hydrothermal method, and epoxide functionalized zirconium phosphates were inve...
Attacks on Logic Locking Obfuscation Techniques

Logic Locking is a relatively new obfuscation technique that is at the forefront of preventing IP theft, piracy, overproduction, and counterfeiting of chips made in contracted foundries. As logic locking develops and new gate insertion techniques are created, their resilience to attacks must be evaluated to know their true effectiveness. In this paper, a variety of logic locking attack methods are reviewed, with their strengths, weaknesses, limitations, and uses being analyzed. Some of the most capable logic locking attacks to date are included: such as Novel Bypass Attack, Functional Analysis Attacks on Logic Locking (FALL), Structural-Functional Attack (SURF), etc.
Accounting for Surgical Confounding Factors Affecting Dual-Energy X-ray Absorptiometry in a Large Clinical Trial.

Abstract Joint replacements are among the most common orthopedic procedures performed in the U.S. and will continue to increase with the aging population. It is therefore necessary to account for these and other confounding factors, such as breast implants, when performing dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) measurements. Whole-body DXA scans were performed in 771 participants (men ≥50 yr and women ≥55 yr) to assess bone mineral density (BMD) and body composition (fat and lean mass). In the DXA scan analyses of participants with internal metal, these affected regions of interest were replaced with measures from the unaffected, contralateral side, consistent with recommendations of the International Society for Clinical Densitometry. T-scores and Z-scores were recalculated using default sex and ethnicity-matched databases. We also explored effects of breast implants on bone density and body composition analyses. Approximately 13.1% of participants had internal metal artifacts at baseline. Replacing metal artifacts with the unaffected, contralateral side decreased the whole-body BMD by an average of 8.1% (SEM 0.84%; n = 67). In participants with unilateral hip (n = 17) and knee replacements (n = 20), BMD was decreased by an average of 14.1% (SEM 1.7%) and 11.2% (SEM 1.1%), respectively. Fat and lean mass were not significantly affected by metal artifacts, as differences between values with and without metal were within 1%. Two participants had bilateral breast implants, and in a separate trial, one participant had a unilateral breast implant. Bone mineral content (BMC) in the region with the breast implant was 5.8 times higher than the contralateral side, and whole-body BMC was increased by 4.7%. Metal artifacts and breast implants can confound DXA whole-body bone but not fat and lean results. It is therefore important in clinical studies to account for these factors to detect physiologically relevant differences in bone measures.
Analysis of permeability scaling within single boreholes

[1] A pronounced permeability (k) scale effect has been previously observed through the analyses of single-and cross-hole pneumatic injection tests in unsaturated fractured tuff at the Apache Leap Research Site (ALRS) [Illman and Neuman, 2001, 2003; Vesselinov et al., 2001a, 2001b]. Here, we investigate whether such an effect is seen at the ALRS when one examines k data collected at multiple measurement scales within a single borehole. Results from single-hole tests in 3 of 4 boreholes show that k increases with scale. However, this increase is considerably smaller than what has been previously surmised at the site. Data analysis reveals that flow is predominantly two-dimensional (2D) for the single-hole tests examined, and upscaling can be accomplished best by calculating a weighted arithmetic mean of individual measurements. The suppression of k scale effect within a single borehole is due to limited fracture connectivity near the injection interval which manifests as 2D flow. In contrast, flow during a cross-hole test takes place through a highly connective fracture network which manifests as three-dimensional (3D) flow.
A multi-scale learning framework for visual categorization

Spatial pyramid matching has recently become a promising technique for image classification. Despite its success and popularity, no prior work has tackled the problem of learning the optimal spatial pyramid representation for the given image data and the associated object category. We propose a Multiple Scale Learning (MSL) framework to learn the best weights for each scale in the pyramid. Our MSL algorithm would produce class-specific spatial pyramid image representations and thus provide improved recognition performance. We approach the MSL problem as solving a multiple kernel learning (MKL) task, which defines the optimal combination of base kernels constructed at different pyramid levels. A wide range of experiments on Oxford flower and Caltech- 101 datasets are conducted, including the use of state-of-the-art feature encoding and pooling strategies. Finally, excellent empirical results reported on both datasets validate the feasibility of our proposed method.
Superior turbinate pneumatization in patients with chronic rhinosinusitis: prevalence on paranasal sinus CT.

With the availability of high-resolution computed tomography (CT), a great deal of attention has been paid to the anatomy of the paranasal sinuses. But while investigators have focused on the osteo...
Micro-poromechanics model of fluid-saturated chemically active fibrous media

We have developed a micromechanics based model for chemically active saturated fibrous media that incorporates fiber network microstructure, chemical potential driven fluid flow, and micro-poromechanics. The stress-strain relationship of the dry fibrous media is first obtained by considering the fiber behavior. The constitutive relationships applicable to saturated media are then derived in the poromechanics framework using Hill's volume averaging. The advantage of this approach is that the resultant continuum model accounts for the discrete nature of the individual fibers while retaining a form suitable for porous materials. As a result, the model is able to predict the influence of micro-scale phenomena, such as the fiber pre-strain caused by osmotic effects and evolution of fiber network structure with loading, on the overall behavior and in particular, on the poromechanics parameters. Additionally, the model can describe fluid-flow related rate-dependent behavior under confined and unconfined conditions and varying chemical environments. The significance of the approach is demonstrated by simulating unconfined drained monotonic uniaxial compression under different surrounding fluid bath molarity, and fluid-flow related creep and relaxation at different loading-levels and different surrounding fluid bath molarity. The model predictions conform to the experimental observations for saturated soft fibrous materials. The method can potentially be extended to other porous materials such as bone, clays, foams and concrete.
Direct observation of critical adsorption on colloidal particles

Despite the fundamental role adsorbed solvent layers play in generating critical Casimir forces between colloidal particles, the structure of these layers has yet to be directly determined. Using small-angle neutron scattering, we have measured critical adsorption on the surface of small spherical silica particles suspended in a binary mixture of lutidine and water. The surface concentration profile and excess adsorption Γ were studied as functions of temperature at the critical concentration and three off-critical concentrations. We are able to differentiate three distinct contributions to the excess adsorption including the intrinsic shape of the concentration profile. The adsorption associated with the profile shape is found to increase monotonically with increasing 2,6-lutidine concentration and to decrease with increasing temperature, this later observation is consistent with expectations for curvature induced corrections to planar adsorption and leads to Γ∼(T-Tc)/Tc (-0.52), where Tc is the critical temperature. This scaling relation corresponds to a stronger divergence than found in the planar case, but a substantially weaker divergence than found previously.
Continuous-flow left ventricular assist device implantation as a bridge to transplantation or destination therapy: Racial disparities in outcomes

t matter r 2013 I 16/j.healun.2012.1 tsiouris@hotmail. thanasios Tsiouris BACKGROUND: There is a paucity of data assessing racial disparities in outcomes after left ventricular assist device (LVAD) implantation. This may be due to the relatively low percentage of African American (AA) patients at a given center. Given the high proportion of AAs in our patient population, we sought to evaluate outcomes of LVAD implantation in AAs vs Caucasians. METHODS: We stratified 88 LVAD patients by AA or Caucasian race. Variables were compared using 2-sided t-tests, chi-square tests, Cox proportional hazards models, and log-rank tests to determine whether a difference existed between AAs and Caucasians and whether race was a significant independent predictor of outcome. RESULTS: AAs represented 36.4% (32 of 88) of our LVAD patients. The two groups did not differ significantly in the incidence of hypertension, diabetes, or chronic renal insufficiency, reoperation rates, preoperative body mass index, left ventricular ejection fraction, central venous pressure, pulmonary capillary wedge pressure, pulmonary artery pressure, or right ventricular function. Compared with Caucasians, AAs were significantly younger (48.6 vs 54.8 years, p 1⁄4 0.019), and had a significantly higher mean body surface area (p 1⁄4 0.009) and a higher rate of non-ischemic dilated cardiomyopathy (61% vs 39%, p 1⁄4 0.008). No significant difference was found in 30-day (p 1⁄4 0.12), 180-day (p 1⁄4 0.166), or 360-day (p 1⁄4 0.18) survival. Analysis by univariate Cox proportional hazard models (hazard ratio [95% confidence interval]) showed race was not an independent predictor of 30-day (4.5 [0.56–35.94], p 1⁄4 0.157), 180-day (3.9 [0.48–31.95], p 1⁄4 0.2), or 360-day survival (1.8 [0.6–5.71], p 1⁄4 0.286). Age and pre-operative renal failure were the only independent predictors of survival at 30 days (1.1 [1.02–1.19], p 1⁄4 0.019; 4.99 [1.24–20], p 1⁄4 0.023, respectively), 180 days (1.09 [1– 1.18], p 1⁄4 0.041; 4.14 [0.99–17.39], p 1⁄4 0.05), and 360 days (1.05 [1–1.1], p 1⁄4 0.044; 2.52 [0.94–6.75], p 1⁄4 0.05). Analysis by a multivariate logistic regression model showed age and chronic renal failure were no longer statistically significant for survival at 30, 180, and 360 days. CONCLUSIONS: Although multiple studies have demonstrated that AAs experience worse outcomes after coronary artery bypass grafting, heart transplantation, and valve surgery, we did not find similar results in our LVAD population. More rigorous pre-operative LVAD workup, including an evaluation by a multidisciplinary team, along with more intense post-operative follow-up, may explain improved outcomes in AAs after LVAD implantation compared with other cardiac surgical procedures, although additional analysis is required. J Heart Lung Transplant 2013;32:299–304 r 2013 International Society for Heart and Lung Transplantation. All rights reserved.
Biaxial bending stresses and stress factors in trapezoidal and elliptical cross-sectional curved beams

This paper deals with the general case of biaxial bending of a curved beam in space whose centerline is circularly curved. Stress equations at any point in the cross-section of the beam have been derived by using Winkler's method. Neutral planes were established and stress factors were found and tabulated for variable thicknesses, widths, and ratios of (R2/R1). Numerical examples for several cases are solved and are demonstrated in graphical manner.
Induction of experimental thyroid dysfunction in rats with implantable pellets of thyroxine or propylthiouracil

Subcutaneously implanted pellets containing the thyroid hormone thyroxine or the thyrotoxic agent propylthiouracil were used to induce hyper- or hypothyroidism in rats. The results obtained were compared to those produced by daily subcutaneous injection of these substances. The thyroxine pellets caused substantial elevation of serum thyroxine concentrations for at least 25 days, whereas the propylthiouracil pellets caused a pronounced decrease of serum thyroxine concentrations. Changes in heart weight and rectal temperature were consistent with the observed alterations of serum thyroxine concentrations. Treatment with propylthiouracil was associated with small elevations of serum total protein, urea nitrogen, and creatine concentrations regardless of the method of administration of this agent. It is concluded that implantable pellets are an effective and convenient means of administering drugs for producing thyroid dysfunction in rats.
Is the Appearance of the Dextranomer/Hyaluronic Acid Mound Predictive of Reflux Resolution?

Purpose: After endoscopic correction of vesicoureteral reflux, we correlated the appearance of the Deflux® mound with the outcome.Material and Methods: We created an online survey based on 11 primary vesicoureteral reflux cases, including 6 failed and 9 successful procedures in a total of 15 renal units. Cases were selected randomly from our video library. All cases were performed by a single surgeon using the double hydrodistention implantation technique until a satisfactory mound was achieved and corrected. An online survey questionnaire was e-mailed to 234 members of the Society for Pediatric Urology. Each survey question contained a preoperative voiding cystourethrogram image as well as images of the ureteral orifice before and after injection. Respondents were asked to predict whether they thought that the appearance of the Deflux mound would be associated with successful reflux resolution on voiding cystourethrogram 3 months postoperatively. We analyzed the percent of correctly answered questions as...
Natron Trade, 2000 B.C.

In her article “Yemen's Stonehenge suggests Bronze Age Red Sea culture” (Research News, 6 Mar., [p. 1452][1]), Heather Pringle states that the al-Midaman culture of 4000 years ago may have acquired wealth by trading in natron because it is a key ingredient in soap. Natron was also used in large
Electric field effects in YBa2Cu3O7−δ films

Abstract A brief summary of the electric field effects on the normal and the superconducting state of high- T c superconductors is given. Experiments are presented in which electric fields were used to modulate the transport properties of weakly linked YBa 2 Cu 3 O 7−δ films. It is found that the critical temperature T c0 of such films can be reduced by ≈10 K by applying electric fields of ≈6 MV/cm. In one case, T c0 shifts of up to 25–30 K were observed. These are by far the largest T c shifts reported for any superconducting system.
Innovative clinical trial design for pediatric therapeutics

Until approximately 15 years ago, sponsors rarely included children in the development of therapeutics. US and European legislation has resulted in an increase in the number of pediatric trials and specific label changes and dosing recommendations, although infants remain an understudied group. The lack of clinical trials in children is partly due to specific challenges in conducting trials in this patient population. Therapeutics in special populations, including premature infants, obese children and children receiving extracorporeal life support, are even less studied. National research networks in Europe and the USA are beginning to address some of the gaps in pediatric therapeutics using novel clinical trial designs. Recent innovations in pediatric clinical trial design, including sparse and scavenged sampling, population pharmacokinetic analyses and ‘opportunistic’ studies, have addressed some of the historical challenges associated with clinical trials in children.
Cytogenetic and molecular analysis of therapy-related leukemia.

These studies represent a historical overview of an analysis of a particularly challenging form of acute leukemia. In the last decade the authors have progressed from identifying two recurring chromosome abnormalities in therapy-related leukemia to refining the localization of the segment of each chromosome that may contain the critical genes. In parallel, they began to map genes related to regulation of hematopoiesis and found that many of them were located on chromosome 5 within or adjacent to this critical region. Moreover, most of these genes were contained within the segment of DNA that was lost in the deletions of 5q. They are continuing the mapping of new genes to chromosome 5. At the same time, they are using the newer techniques of long-range DNA mapping with various forms of pulsed-field gel electrophoresis. It is clear that with perseverance, this combined approach of identifying new genes and anonymous DNA segments located in band 5q31 and using partial DNA digests and pulsed-field gel electrophoresis to link these probes will provide a detailed map of 5q31. With this map they should be able to identify very small deletions or rearrangements of genes on the normal chromosome 5. This information will allow the authorsmore » to clone the genes in this segment and to identify which gene(s) contribute to the leukemic phenotype of the myeloid cells.« less
Drug-hormone interactions on neurobehavioral responses in human neonates☆

Features of drug-behavioral interaction were studied in 42 healthy vaginally delivered newborns who were exposed either to local anesthesia or centrally acting opioids during labor and delivery. Each drug group consisted of 14 infants (7 males, 7 females). Results revealed that infants whose mothers received no anesthesia or only an epidural block with a local anesthetic (Marcaine) performed better on the neurobehavioral portion of testing than infants whose mothers received an epidural with narcotic sedatives (Demerol or Fentanyl). There was also an interactive effect between sex and drug group on salivary cortisol following stimulation. There were no significant effects for drug group or sex on gross measures of crying. Obstetric medication effects on newborn behavior and stress hormone changes appear to be influenced in varying degrees by drug potency, temporal factors, and sex of the infant.
The effect of heavy metals on the survival, reproduction, development, and life cycles for two species of polychaetous annelids☆

Abstract The effects of exposure of six metals on survival and reproduction in two species of polychaetous, Ctenodrilus serratus and Ophryotrocha diadema, possessing short life histories were measured. The suppression of reproduction was generally two orders of magnitude less than the 96 h LC50.
Fast calculation of phase in spatial n-point phase-shifting techniques

The n-point technique (also called the spatial carrier phase-shifting technique) is one of a few fringe pattern analysis techniques. We present modified algorithms for the n-point technique from which the phase modulo 2(pi) can be calculated in a much shorter time versus conventional algorithms. The algorithms are based on spatial synchronous detection techniques, and by analogy to those techniques, the modified algorithms are named low-pass algorithms, as opposed to the convention 'high-pass' algorithms in the n-point technique.
Single-ion cyclotron resonance measurement of M (CO+) /M (N-2 +)

We have trapped single molecular ions in a precision Penning trap and, using cyclotron resonance techniques, have measured the mass ratio M(${\mathrm{CO}}^{+}$)/M(${\mathrm{N}}_{2}^{+}$) to be 0.999 598 8876(4). Accuracy is limited at 4\ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{}${10}^{\mathrm{\ensuremath{-}}10}$ predominantly by temporal instability in the magnetic field. All other systematic sources of error are \ensuremath{\Delta}M/M\ensuremath{\lesssim}${10}^{\mathrm{\ensuremath{-}}10}$. .AE
Contingency-Based Nodal Market Operation Using Intelligent Economic Alarm Processor

This paper focuses on system monitoring and alarm processing and the use of those alarms for economic decision in the nodal electricity market. The task of an Intelligent Economic Alarm Processor (IEAP) is to analyze thousands of alarm messages and extract useful information that explains cause-effect sequences associated with the unexpected contingencies. A graphical Fuzzy Reasoning Petri-nets (FRPN) model that uses fuzzy logic parameters to effectively tackle the uncertainties is built. The economic alarm processor module then processes the fault event signal, analyzes the impact on the market operation activities and different participants, and gives recommendations to optimize the total economic impact under fault scenarios. A contingency-based strategic bidding model concept is proposed to help the market participants take advantages of the latest system operation information and maximize their benefits over the competitors.
Changes in the Use of Personal Assistance and Special Equipment from 1982 to 1989: Results from the 1982 and 1989 NLTCS

Analysis of data from the 1982, 1984 and 1989 National Long-term Care Surveys suggests that long-term care use is changing. Between 1982 and 1989, equipment use by persons with light physical impairment, or to supplement personal assistance for the severely disabled, increased. Over this same period, there was a decline in the use of personal assistance as the sole modality to deal with chronic impairments. Since equipment costs are nonrecurrent, whereas personal assistance costs are recurrent, this finding has implications for long-term care policy.
New integration of the Gibbs-Duhem equation and application of phase relations and thermodynamics to fuel reprocessing

Abstract The application of phase relations and thermodynamic properties to the design of fused salt and liquid metal processes for the separation of fission product elements from nuclear fuel materials is described. Processes can be designed to extract minor components from a fuel material without drastically altering its character or state of aggregation. It is possible to effectively transport solutes from one liquid metal or alloy to a second liquid metal or alloy by bringing the two in contact with an appropriate fused salt. Alternatively it is possible to transport solutes between two liquid salt phases by bringing them in mutual contact with an appropriate alloy. A process for extracting uranium from a thoria-urania solid solution powder by reactions in a fused salt medium is described. The value of the activity coefficient of any particular solute at infinite dilution is an important parameter in determining the ultimate degree of separation to be expected in a given process. Interpolation functions for evaluating the properties of dilute solutions are examined and a new integration of the Gibbs-Duhem equation for binary alloys is developed. The method described lends considerable versatility to the types of curves or functions which can be integrated to yield data for a second component in a binary solution.
A class of monotone economies in which rational expectations equilibria exist but prices do not reveal all information

Abstract Some economies having excess demands which depend monotonically on agents' information signals are examined. If there are no multiple market clearing prices, then these economies have strict rational expectations equilibria in which equilibrium prices alone do not transmit all information.
Small bowel obstruction and internal hernias during pregnancy after gastric bypass surgery.

Small bowel obstruction (SBO) is a recognized complication of Roux-en-Y gastric bypass (RYGB) surgery. Internal hernia (IH) a potential problem associated with RYGB, can have severe consequences if not diagnosed. We present two cases of SBO due to IH during pregnancy after laparoscopic RYGB (LRYGB). Both patients underwent an antecolic, antegastric LRYGB. In both patients a Petersen’s type IH was found. We reviewed the cases reported in the literature of SBO during pregnancy after RYGB. IH should always be ruled out in pregnant patients with previous RYGB and abdominal pain. Prompt surgical intervention is mandatory for a good outcome.
T Cell Avidity and Tumor Immunity: Problems and Solutions

A potent T cell response is an important component of durable anti-tumor immunity. The quality of the T cell response can, in-part, be measured by the avidity of the T cell for its tumor antigen-expressing target. While convention suggests that raising the avidity of the responding T cells may make for a more potent anti-tumor immune response, the threshold for effective tumor immunity remains unclear, as do some of the adverse effects of an inappropriately high avidity response. In this review, we discuss the relationship between T cell avidity and anti-tumor immunity, considering both experimental model systems as well as human clinical trials.
Principal coordinate realization of state estimation and its application of order reduction

Conclusions The clutter leakage metrics for the measurement of telescope image stability illustrated in this paper are quite valuable, particularly when the telescope undergoes the significant vibrations caused by an adjacent, deformable, articulated body such as a solar array or by control actuators such as reaction wheels or control-moment gyros. In these circumstances, since the Fourier spectrum of the telescope's pointing error is wide, the conventional method of measuring pointing accuracy in terms of stability and stability rates is inadequate. In the numerical example considered, the leakage metric is high for low damping of the solar array, which implies that greater damping yields a better image. Furthermore, the metric depends heavily upon the integration interval; below a certain limit, the smaller the interval, the better the image. The numerical illustration, therefore, also exemplifies controlstructure and payload-to-payload interaction.
Efficient μ-law improved proportionate affine projection algorithm for echo cancellation

For echo cancellation, the proportionate affine projection algorithm (APA) has been proposed to take advantage of the sparseness of the echo path. In this reported work, the μ-law proportionate technique is applied to the APA combined with a recently proposed structure having a memory of the proportionate step-size control matrices. Simulation results show that this new algorithm, termed the μ-law memorised improved proportionate APA (MMIPAPA), as well as its segmented implementation (SMIPAPA), yields a further performance improvement while maintaining low computational complexity.
Anabolic-androgenic steroid abuse by physicians

Physicians are not immune to the rising popularity of anabolic-androgenic steroid (AAS) abuse. We present three cases of physician-patients who recently required inpatient substance abuse treatment stemming from the abuse of AAS or related compounds. These individuals shared a number of clinical and psychological features that led to or resulted from their abuse of ergogenic substances. Each incurred severe professional, legal, domestic and/or health consequences as a result of their abuse. The common features identified in these patients suggest the presence of an overriding "risk behavior syndrome" that may predispose susceptible individuals to AAS abuse. The reinforcing properties of AAS and the potential for dependence remains an active area of research. Effective treatment of these individuals requires recognition of the causative factors as well as the high likelihood of other substance abuse that must also be addressed. With proper support and monitoring, these individuals can resume productive professional careers.
Use of the biceps femoris following failed inferior gluteal flap transfer. Case report

Considering the high recurrence rate of pressure ulceration in paraplegic patients, flap procedures to reconstruct a defect should not be at the expense of another possible future flap. The posterior thigh fasciocutaneous flap is useful for the coverage of ischial and trochanteric pressure sores; the biceps femoris musculocutaneous flap is a useful choice for deep ischial defects. However, the cutaneous portions of these two flaps is nearly identical. The previous transfer of the biceps flap excludes the further use of the posterior thigh flap. In contrast, use of the posterior thigh flap still permits the employment of a biceps V-Y advancement flap. Even if the donor site of the previous posterior thigh flap must be skin-grafted, the graft will remain viable on its muscular bed and function as the cutaneous portion of the flap; thus stable coverage is provided, despite previous use of ‘first line’ flaps. We demonstrate how careful planning of the stages of flap procedures can allow the most economic use of donor areas in this difficult patient group.
Host specificity of Gregarina blattarum von Siebold, 1839 (Apicomplexa: Eugregarinida) among five species of domiciliary cockroaches

The host specificity of Gregarina blattarum was evaluated among five species of domiciliary cockroaches: Blatella germanica, Supella longipalpa, Blatta orientalis, Periplaneta americana, and Periplaneta fuliginosa. Third- and fourth-instar nymphs were allowed to feed on crushed dog kibble contaminated with G. blattarum oocysts. Cockroaches were killed 8 days postinfection and examined for parasites. Gregarina blattarum infections were observed in all experimentally infected replications of B. germanica. No infection was observed in an experimentally infected replication of S. longipalpa, B. orientalis, P. americana, or P. fuliginosa, nor was an infection observed in a time zero or ending time control group. In vitro excystation assays using extracts of host gut homogenates demonstrate that G. blattarum sporozoites successfully excyst and begin the life cycle in all five cockroach species tested. No excystation was observed in neutral buffered saline controls. These data suggest that G. blattarum comprises a complex of cryptic species marked by narrow host utilization rather than a single species parasitizing a broad array of cockroach taxa.
Identification of a Cis-acting element in the rat ?-fetoprotein gene and its specific binding proteins in F9 cells during retinoic acid-induced differentiation

Mouse F9 embryonic teratocarcinoma stem cells can be induced to differentiate into visceral endoderm. Following retinoic acid (RA) treatment, alpha-fetoprotein (AFP), a differentiation marker, is expressed and secreted. The mechanism by which RA regulates AFP expression during differentiation is not clear. The relatively late induction of AFP indicates that the AFP gene may not be a primary target of RA activity during F9 cell differentiation. In this study, a CAT reporter plasmid containing the rat AFP 5'-regulatory region (-7040 to +7) adjacent to the CAT gene (pAFPCAT) was stably transfected into F9 cells and used to delineate a cis-acting element which associates with AFP gene activation. Similar spatial and temporal expression patterns between the transcriptional activity of the recombinant AFP gene and the endogenous AFP gene demonstrate that this stably transfected F9 system can be used to dissect both cis-elements and trans-acting factors responsible for RA-induced AFP expression. Using a series of deletion mutants of the pAFPCAT, the region between -2611 to -1855 was found to be important in AFP-induction. Subsequent analysis identified a functional sequence (-1905 to -1891, 5'-ACTAAAATGGAGACT-3') that differentially binds nuclear proteins from undifferentiated and differentiated F9 cells. This sequence, designed as differentiation-associated sequence (DAS) for its unique binding of a nuclear protein (DAP-II) that appears during RA-induced F9 differentiation, acts as a regulatory protein factor in AFP gene activation.
ON THE MECHANISM OF “HYDROPHOBIC” INTERACTIONS

Abstract It is shown that the interfacial attraction between low-energy bodies immersed in aqueous media, known as “hydrophobic” interaction, can be quantitatively accounted for by, mainly, the hydrogen-bonding energy of cohesion of water, plus, to a very minor extent, a van der Waals-Lifshitz attraction between the Immersed law-energy bodies.
Near infrared reflectance spectroscopy for the determination of biological activity in agricultural soils

The objective of this work was to investigate the usefulness of near infrared (NIR) reflectance spectroscopy in determining biological activity in agricultural soils. A Foss-NIRSystems model 6500 spectrometer, equipped with a spinning sample cup module, was used to scan 179 soil samples obtained from experimental plots at two locations with three replicate plots under plough and no-till practices at each location with three rates of NH4NO3 for each plot with samples taken from five depths for a total of 180 samples (one sample lost). Biological activity as measured by four enzymes (dehydrogenase, phosphatase, arylsulfatase and urease) and nitrification potential was determined by conventional methods and NIR reflectance spectroscopy. Investigations showed NIR reflectance spectroscopy to be capable of determining biological activity as reflected by the four enzymes and nitrification potential to at least some degree. With the best R2 in the range of 0.8, the results, while positive, were not as good as found previously for many other components (i.e. total C and N) in the same sample set. Efforts at simple discrimination into high, medium and low activities were not successful, and for the most part, calibrations based on subsets, such as samples from only one location, were not found to be an improvement. Correlation analysis indicated that measures of biologically-active nitrogen might be the basis for these determinations. Finally, while further research will be needed to define clearly the basis for, limitations to and usefulness of NIR reflectance spectroscopy in determining biological activity in soil samples, the results presented indicated that NIR reflectance spectroscopy might be useful for the rapid determination of such activity in cases where extreme accuracy is not required, such as spatial mapping.
Creative learning for intelligent robots

This paper describes a methodology for creative learning that applies to man and machines. Creative learning is a general approach used to solve optimal control problems. The creative controller for intelligent machines integrates a dynamic database and a task control center into the adaptive critic learning model. The task control center can function as a command center to decompose tasks into sub-tasks with different dynamic models and criteria functions, while the dynamic database can act as an information system. To illustrate the theory of creative control, several experimental simulations for robot arm manipulators and mobile wheeled vehicles were included. The simulation results showed that the best performance was obtained by using adaptive critic controller among all other controllers. By changing the paths of the robot arm manipulator in the simulation, it was demonstrated that the learning component of the creative controller was adapted to a new set of criteria. The Bearcat Cub robot was another experimental example used for testing the creative control learning. The significance of this research is to generalize the adaptive control theory in a direction toward highest level of human learning - imagination. In doing this it is hoped to better understand the adaptive learning theory and move forward to develop more human-intelligence-like components and capabilities into the intelligent robot. It is also hoped that a greater understanding of machine learning will motivate similar studies to improve human learning.
Phosphoethanolamine Transferase LptA in Haemophilus ducreyi Modifies Lipid A and Contributes to Human Defensin Resistance In Vitro

Haemophilus ducreyi resists the cytotoxic effects of human antimicrobial peptides (APs), including α-defensins, β-defensins, and the cathelicidin LL-37. Resistance to LL-37, mediated by the sensitive to antimicrobial peptide (Sap) transporter, is required for H. ducreyi virulence in humans. Cationic APs are attracted to the negatively charged bacterial cell surface. In other gram-negative bacteria, modification of lipopolysaccharide or lipooligosaccharide (LOS) by the addition of positively charged moieties, such as phosphoethanolamine (PEA), confers AP resistance by means of electrostatic repulsion. H. ducreyi LOS has PEA modifications at two sites, and we identified three genes (lptA, ptdA, and ptdB) in H. ducreyi with homology to a family of bacterial PEA transferases. We generated non-polar, unmarked mutants with deletions in one, two, or all three putative PEA transferase genes. The triple mutant was significantly more susceptible to both α- and β-defensins; complementation of all three genes restored parental levels of AP resistance. Deletion of all three PEA transferase genes also resulted in a significant increase in the negativity of the mutant cell surface. Mass spectrometric analysis revealed that LptA was required for PEA modification of lipid A; PtdA and PtdB did not affect PEA modification of LOS. In human inoculation experiments, the triple mutant was as virulent as its parent strain. While this is the first identified mechanism of resistance to α-defensins in H. ducreyi, our in vivo data suggest that resistance to cathelicidin LL-37 may be more important than defensin resistance to H. ducreyi pathogenesis.
Brief paper: On receding horizon feedback control

Receding horizon feedback control (RHFC) was originally introduced as an easy method for designing stable state-feedback controllers for linear systems. Here those results are generalized to the control of nonlinear autonomous systems, and we develop a performance index which is minimized by the RHFC (inverse optimal control problem). Previous results for linear systems have shown that desirable nonlinear controllers can be developed by making the RHFC horizon distance a function of the state. That functional dependence was implicit and difficult to implement on-line. Here we develop similar controllers for which the horizon distance is an easily computed explicit function of the state.
Effect of time and concentration upon interaction between gentamicin, tobramycin, Netilmicin, or amikacin and carbenicillin or ticarcillin

An aminoglycoside antibiotic and carbenicillin or ticarcillin are widely used in the treatment of patients with gram-negative bacillus infections. This study evaluated the effect of time upon in vitro interaction between mixtures of four aminoglycosides at two concentrations with carbenicillin or ticarcillin at four concentrations. By linear regression analysis, the inactivation of each aminoglycoside was shown to be directly proportional to the concentration of carbenicillin (P < 0.001). Inactivation was significantly (P < 0.01) greater for gentamicin and tobramycin than for amikacin or netilmicin at all carbenicillin concentrations. At carbenicillin concentrations of 300 and 600 mug/ml, significantly (P < 0.005) less inactivation of amikacin occurred when compared to netilmicin. Ticarcillin produced a significant (P < 0.025) inactivation of gentamicin and tobramycin, with inactivation being directly proportional to ticarcillin concentration. No inactivation of amikacin or netilmicin activity occurred unless the ticarcillin concentration was 600 mug/ml. No significant change in aminoglycoside activity occurred when stored with ticarcillin or carbenicillin at concentrations ranging from 100 to 600 mug/ml at -70 degrees C for 56 days. When an aminoglycoside and carbenicillin or ticarcillin are indicated in patients with renal failure, this study supports the use of ticarcillin with either amikacin or netilmicin.
Skin color variation in eastern Nepal

The purpose of this paper is to provide skin color data on several endogamous groups of eastern Nepal and to demonstrate genetic microdifferentiation in skin color. Skin reflectance measures were taken at the upper inner arm and forehead sites, using the British DSL Model 99 Reflectance Spectrophotometer fitted with blue, green, and red filters. Measurements on 484 males representing six endogamous groups (Jirel, Sunwar, Sherpa, Tamang, Brahman, Chetri) were utilized. After adjusting for group-specific age effects, multivariate likelihood ratio permutation tests were used to assess ethnic differences in skin reflectance means and covariance matrices. Ethnic group membership had a highly significant effect on skin color at the upper inner arm site and at the forehead site. Differential tanning responses among groups were also detected and may represent the influence of genotype-environment interaction on reflectance traits. Mahalanobis distance analysis revealed patterns of microdifferentiation that are inconsistent with oral historical accounts. Little support was found for the ethnohistorical belief that Jirels are a hybrid group descended from Sunwars and Sherpas, even though this scenario is supported by linguistic, anthropometric, and dermatoglyphic data. We suggest that while reflectometric studies of skin pigmentation may be useful in assessing the macrodifferentiation of human populations, the use of skin color in differentiation studies at the local population level needs to be carefully evaluated.
Maltreatment reports and placement outcomes for infants and toddlers in out‐of‐home care

Cette etude examine la relation entre l'enfant et les caracteristiques familiales, les mauvais traitements a enfants, la negligence a faire etat des faits de maltraitance, et les resultats de placement pour un echantillon de 1357 bebes et petits enfants qui furent places en familles de placement avant la mise en application aux Etats-Unis de la Loi d'Adoption et a la Securite des Familles de 1997 (P.L. 105-89). Un grand nombre d'enfants entrant dans des familles de placement dans six comtes californiens ont ete suivis pendant une moyenne de 4 ans, en utilisant des donnees fournies par deux systemes de gestion de donnees (les services de protection de l'enfant et le mode de soin de placement). Parmi les resultats, on peut noter que les enfants nes exposes a l'alcool et aux drogues prenatales etaient parmi ceux qui avaient le plus de chances de rester places pendant la duree entiere de la periode d'etude et s'ils etaient reunifies avec leurs familles ils avaient plus de chances d'etre replaces en famille de placement plus tard. Tous les enfants qui etaient places dans des familles de placement y avaient ete places apres un seul rapport des services de protection de l'enfant. Ces resultats pour ce qui concerne le bien-etre de l'enfant sont examines a la lumiere de la politique actuelle du bien-etre de l'enfant et des recherches sur le risque de developpement, la pratique de soumission, et les implications pour la recherche.
Brief Report: Consistency of Search Engine Rankings for Autism Websites

The World Wide Web is one of the most common methods used by parents to find information on autism spectrum disorders and most consumers find information through search engines such as Google or Bing. However, little is known about how the search engines operate or the consistency of the results that are returned over time. This study presents the results of analyses of searches from 2009, 2010, and 2011 for information on autism. We found that over time, consumers are likely to have different search experiences yielding different results, and we urge consumers to use caution when using the World Wide Web to obtain information on autism.
Neurotransmitter organization and connections of turtle cortex: implications for the evolution of mammalian isocortex

Telencephalic cortex in turtles is a simple three layered-structure. The dorsal most part of this structure is thought to resemble the reptilian forerunner of at least parts of mammalian isocortex. This dorsal part of turtle cortex contains several functionally distinct regions that show similarity in their connections and function to specific areas in mammalian isocortex. The types of neurons found in turtle dorsal cortex (as defined by their morphology and neurotransmitter content) also show great similarity to those observed in mammals, with the major exception that turtle cortex appears to lack the types of neurons found in granular and supragranular layers of mammalian isocortex. Similar results have also been observed in other living reptiles. Thus, one major step in the evolution of reptilian cortex into mammalian cortex must have been the addition of the types of neurons found in the granular and supragranular layers of mammalian isocortex. These observations for turtles also suggest that turtle cortex in particular and reptilian telencephalic cortex in general must differ functionally from mammalian isocortex with respect to those features associated with the laminar and columnar organization of isocortex. These issues are discussed in more detail below and in Reiner (1991).
Incorporating health literacy into larger operational environments.

In their article, Health Literacy and Health Care Spending and Utilization in a Consumer-Driven Health Plan, Hardie et al. examine health literacy and health care spending and utilization by linkin...
Rural Older Americans: A Unique Cultural Cohort

In this article, we will discuss important cultural considerations when providing services to older adults living in rural America. Older adults in rural areas have a unique set of issues when accessing health care, transportation, and social services. These adults typically also have less income than their urban peers, further impacting quality of life and aging. Service providers in rural America also face unique challenges when compared to their urban counterparts, we will discuss the perspectives of both. We will conclude by sharing recommendations for practicing with greater cultural fluency and overcoming barriers in geriatric service delivery in rural settings.