cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Reproductive Health Screening in Women with Autoimmune Diseases

Although the female predominance of autoimmune diseases is not completely understood, sex hormones are thought to play a role. Attention to lifelong reproductive health is especially important for women with autoimmune disorders. Many of these women require long-term immunosuppressive therapy that may affect their ability to clear infections, including viruses, and may alter natural tumor surveillance mechanisms. As a result, women with autoimmune diseases may have different risks for common reproductive-related malignancies that may in turn affect screening guidelines and other preventive measures, including vaccination. Women with autoimmune diseases need to adhere diligently to screening recommendations.
Pem fuel cells for transportation and stationary power generation applications

We describe recent activities at Los Alamos National Laboratory devoted to polymer electrolyte fuel cells in the contexts of stationary power generation and transportation applications. A low cost/high performance hydrogen or reformate/air stack technology is being developed based on ultra-low platinum loadings and non-machined, inexpensive elements for flow-fields and bipolar plates. On-board methanol reforming is compared to the option of direct methanol fuel cells in light of recent significant power density increases demonstrated in the latter.
Perturbation Monte Carlo Methods for the Solution of Inverse Problems

We present a computational method that utilizes perturbation Monte Carlo and differential Monte Carlo methods, together with a nonlinear optimization algorithm, to solve inverse problems. Although motivated by biomedical applications, the solution method is quite general and can be applied to inverse problems in other fields. Each such problem involves the use of some form of radiation to probe and identify subtle changes in a complex physical system that is modelled by transport theory.
Abstract 253: Out of Range INR Results Lead to Increased Health Care Utilization in Four Large Anticoagulation Clinics

Background: The impact on healthcare utilization of a single out of range (OOR) INR value not associated with any bleeding or thromboembolic complication among chronic warfarin-treated patients is ...
The Effect of Conditional Accounting Conservatism on the Predictive Ability of Accruals Components with Respect to Future Cash Flows

We investigate the impact of conditional conservation on the ability of accruals and its components to predict future cash flows. We first demonstrate that conditional conservatism has increased over the period from 1988 to 2013 due to an increase in timely loss recognition and asymmetric timely loss recognition. We find that while conditional conservatism that is manifest in both special-item and non-special-item accruals has increased over time, the temporal increase in conservatism is primarily attributable to non-special-item accruals. Next, we show that the increase in timely loss recognition is associated with an increase in the ability of accrual components to predict future cash flows in periods of bad news, consistent with asymmetric timely loss recognition increasing the ability of accruals to predict future cash flows. These findings stand in contrast to the belief that conditional conservatism reduces the valuation role of GAAP earnings as some have claimed.
Active Sites of O2-Evolving Chlorite Dismutases Probed by Halides and Hydroxides and New Iron–Ligand Vibrational Correlations

O2-evolving chlorite dismutases (Clds) fall into two subfamilies, which efficiently convert ClO2– to O2 and Cl–. The Cld from Dechloromonas aromatica (DaCld) represents the chlorite-decomposing homopentameric enzymes found in perchlorate- and chlorate-respiring bacteria. The Cld from the Gram-negative human pathogen Klebsiella pneumoniae (KpCld) is representative of the second subfamily, comprising homodimeric enzymes having truncated N-termini. Here steric and nonbonding properties of the DaCld and KpCld active sites have been probed via kinetic, thermodynamic, and spectroscopic behaviors of their fluorides, chlorides, and hydroxides. Cooperative binding of Cl– to KpCld drives formation of a hexacoordinate, high-spin aqua heme, whereas DaCld remains pentacoordinate and high-spin under analogous conditions. Fluoride coordinates to the heme iron in KpCld and DaCld, exhibiting ν(FeIII–F) bands at 385 and 390 cm–1, respectively. Correlation of these frequencies with their CT1 energies reveals strong H-bond d...
Are Robots Good Fiduciaries? Regulating Robo-Advisors Under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940

In the past decade, robo-advisors — online platforms providing investment advice driven by algorithms — have emerged as a low-cost alternative to traditional, human investment advisers. This presents a regulatory wrinkle for the Investment Advisers Act, the primary federal statute governing investment advice. Enacted in 1940, the Advisers Act was devised with human behavior in mind. Regulators now must determine how an automated alternative fits into the Act’s framework. A popular narrative, driven by investment advice professionals and the popular press, argues that robo-advisors are inherently structurally incapable of exercising enough care to meet Advisers Act standards. This Note draws upon common law principles and interpretations of the Advisers Act to argue against this narrative. It then finds that regulators should instead focus on robo-advisor duty of loyalty issues because algorithms can be programmed to reflect a firm’s existing conflicts of interest. The Note concludes by arguing for a shift in regulatory focus and proposing a two-part heightened disclosure rule that would make robo-advisor conflicts of interest more transparent.
Predicting smoking status using machine learning algorithms and statistical analysis

Smoking has been proven to negatively affect your health in a multitude of ways. As of 2009, smoking is the leading cause of preventable morbidity and mortality in the United States, continuing to plague the country's overall health. This study aims to investigate the viability and effectiveness of machine learning algorithms for predicting the smoking status of patients based on their blood tests and vital readings results. The analysis of this study is divided into two parts: In part 1, we use One-way ANOVA analysis with SAS to show the statistically significant difference in blood test readings between smokers and nonsmokers. The results show that the difference in INR, which measures the effectiveness of anticoagulants, was significant in favor of nonsmokers which further confirms the health risks associated with smoking. In part 2, we use five machine learning algorithms: Naive Bayes, MLP, Logistic, J48 and Decision Table to predict the smoking status of patients. To compare the effectiveness of these algorithms we use: Precision, Recall, F-measure and Accuracy measures. The results show that Logistic algorithm outperformed the four other algorithms with Precision, Recall, F-Measure, and Accuracy of 83%, 83.4%, 83.2%, 83.44%, respectively.
Acoustic Scattering by Submerged Elastic Bodies: A Boundary Element Approach

The scattering of time-harmonic acoustic waves from an elastic solid immersed in a fluid with the transmission of elastic waves into the solid is a generic problem of interest to various disciplines. A solution strategy for this class of problems is of direct significance to the NDE community, where such knowledge can contribute to a simulation scheme for an ultrasonic immersion scanning system with randomly distributed, subsurface flaws. Use of the boundary element method (BEM) is known to be an effective tool in handling such scattering problems, especially in the mid range frequencies where asymptotic approximations fail. The strength of the method lies in exact modelling of the interaction; the drawback being its loss of efficiency in the the high frequency regime.
Tetraalkylsilanes, Alkylpentafluorosilicates and Alkenylpentafluorosilicates

This chapter is concerned with the synthetically useful chemistry of tetraalkylsilanes and dipotassium alkyl-and alkenylpentafluorosilicates.
Dynamics, Control, and Stabilization of Turning Flight in Fruit Flies

Complex behaviors of flying insects require interactions among sensory-neural systems, wing actuation biomechanics, and flapping-wing aerodynamics. Here, we review our recent progress in understanding these layers for maneuvering and stabilization flight of fruit flies. Our approach combines kinematic data from flying insects and aerodynamic simulations to distill reduced-order mathematical models of flight dynamics, wing actuation mechanisms, and control and stabilization strategies. Our central findings include: (1) During in-flight turns, fruit flies generate torque by subtly modulating wing angle of attack, in effect paddling to push off the air; (2) These motions are generated by biasing the orientation of a biomechanical brake that tends to resist rotation of the wing; (3) A simple and fast sensory-neural feedback scheme determines this wing actuation and thus the paddling motions needed for stabilization of flight heading against external disturbances. These studies illustrate a powerful approach for studying the integration of sensory-neural feedback, actuation, and aerodynamic strategies used by flying insects.
The Geology of the China Sea

China has a long shoreline and extensive marginal seas. The coastline extends 20,000 km from the Yalu River on the Chinese-Korean border southward to the estuary of the Beilun River on the Chinese-Vietnam border (Fig. 1). The marginal seas, with a total area of about 3,336,000 km2, can be divided into four geographic regions: the South China Sea (Nan Hai), the East China Sea (Dong Hai), the Yellow Sea (Huang Hai), and Bo Hai (Fig. 1). These seas are shallow, with the exception of the South China Sea and the eastern part of the East China Sea.
A new incremental fatigue method

By analyzing the material's strain-life data differentially, this paper brings to light the generally overlooked incremental damage concept which underlies the conventional uniaxial rainflow counting algorithm and the strain-based fatigue method. This incremental damage concept not only allows the uniaxial rainflow program to be logically extended to multiaxial problems, it also forms the basis for a new incremental fatigue damage accumulation method. Several simple examples, including a multiaxial rainflow algorithm, are given to illustrate how the new approach can be applied to general multiaxial problems and how it can be formulated so that any chosen uniaxial model using the traditional parametric approach can be closely reproduced.
Pearls & Oy-sters: Bow hunter syndrome: A rare cause of posterior circulation stroke: Do not look the other way.

A 24-year-old man with no relevant medical history presented to our institution with a week of intermittent dizziness exacerbated by turning his head to the left. He acutely developed diplopia and disorientation on the day of presentation to the emergency room. He reported similar complaints a month prior. There was no history of fevers, rashes, headache, or neck trauma. There was no family history of similar complaints, vascular or connective tissue diseases, stroke-like episodes, seizures, or early-onset dementia. Examination demonstrated mild impairment of cognition and a right hemiparesis. Initial head CT revealed congenital atlas nonunion (C1) with fusion of the second and third vertebral bodies (C2–C3). Brain MRI revealed diffusion restriction in the left thalamus and bilateral dorsal midbrain indicative of multiple acute infarctions. Chronic infarctions were also present in the right cerebellum, which indicated prior episodes of ischemia. A series of dynamic X-rays showed malalignment of the lateral masses of the atlas with C2, but there was no evidence of instability. CT angiography (CTA) revealed the presence of a pseudoaneurysm of the right VA at its exit from the C2 transverse foramen. This was suspected to be the source of the posterior circulation emboli. Left VA was unremarkable. There was no evidence of VA dissection on CTA (figure). Magnetic resonance angiography (MRA) with fat-suppressed images of the neck was not performed. The rest of the workup including complete blood count, serum chemistry and lipids profile, glycosylated hemoglobin levels, liver function tests, hypercoagulability studies, D-dimer levels, transthoracic echocardiography, and short-term Holter monitoring were unremarkable. A transesophageal echocardiogram was not performed because of concerns for further neck manipulation.
Police use of force: an examination of the minority threat perspective

The minority threat perspective suggests that the criminal justice system may be one mechanism through which the majority group (i.e. Whites) maintains control of culturally dissimilar minority gro...
Influence of Sodium Glucose Cotransporter 2 Inhibition on Physiological Adaptation to Endurance Exercise Training.

Context The combination of two beneficial antidiabetes interventions, regular exercise and pharmaceuticals, is intuitively appealing. However, metformin, the most commonly prescribed diabetes medication, attenuates the favorable physiological adaptations to exercise; in turn, exercise may impede the action of metformin. Objective We sought to determine the influence of an alternative diabetes treatment, sodium glucose cotransporter 2 (SGLT2) inhibition, on the response to endurance exercise training. Design, participants, and intervention In a randomized, double-blind, repeated measures parallel design, 30 sedentary overweight and obese men and women were assigned to 12 weeks of supervised endurance exercise training, with daily ingestion of either a placebo or SGLT2 inhibitor (dapagliflozin: ≤10 mg/day). Outcome measurements and results Endurance exercise training favorably modified body mass, body composition (dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry), peak oxygen uptake (graded exercise with indirect calorimetry), responses to standardized submaximal exercise (indirect calorimetry, heart rate, and blood lactate), and skeletal muscle (vastus lateralis) citrate synthase activity (main effects of exercise training, all P 0.05). However, after endurance exercise training, fasting blood glucose was greater with SGLT2 inhibition, and increased insulin sensitivity (oral glucose tolerance test/Matsuda index) was abrogated with SGLT2 inhibition (exercise training × treatment interaction, P Conclusion The efficacy of combining two beneficial antidiabetes interventions, regular endurance exercise and SGLT2 inhibition, was not supported. SGLT2 inhibition blunted endurance exercise training-induced improvements in insulin sensitivity, independent of effects on aerobic fitness or body composition.
Drop-in two-dimensional electronic spectroscopy based on dual modulation in the pump-probe geometry

We report a compact design of two-dimensional electronic spectrometer (2DES) which can be built from any femtosecond broadband transient absorption setup using only a few optical elements and dual beam modulation by a single chopper blade. The dual pulse modulation design provides automatic extraction of the third order response as well as effective scatter suppression. Self-phasing of the 2D absorptive spectra is enabled directly by the pump-probe geometry. This passively stabilized instrument achieves interferometric phase stability of λ/300 at 800 nm. The laser dye IR140 was used as a model chromophore to demonstrate the function of the instrument. Two ground state conformers of IR140 are observed in the 2D spectra. The presented simple modification of standard transient absorption spectrometer grants a wider access to a next generation research tool with advantages of low cost, simple operation, and data extraction. Our report presents an alternative solution of bringing the ultrafast research in chemistry, biology, and physics to the forefront of modern science.
3D printed collagen structures at low concentrations supported by jammed microgels

Abstract Improving cell infiltration into engineered scaffolds and decelluarized tissue is needed for developing new and effective technologies in regenerative medicine and tissue engineering. Significant challenges associated with populating these structures with cells have persisted for many years. Here we describe a 3D bioprinting method for creating precise structures from natural extracellular matrix at low concentrations that facilitates cell infiltration after printing. We show that when printing collagen-1 solutions into a support medium made from jammed microgels, the printer’s basic operating parameters can be used to predict the resulting feature size. Microscopic examination of the printed features show that the collagen solution undergoes gelation and forms a network with the microgels excluded from the printed region. Using this method we 3D print a centimeter-scale model of a developing gut tube and we also show that cells are able to infiltrate printed collagen-1 structures. Our results demonstrate that a diversity of new approaches are possible for creating heterogeneously populated engineered tissue structures.
Whose parenting stress is more vulnerable to marital dissatisfaction? A within-couple approach examining gender, cognitive reappraisal, and parental identity.

Conflict and tension in the couple relationship transfers to the parent-child relationship, amplifying the stress parents experience while parenting young children. Pinpointing moderating and individual-level factors that exist in this spillover process may identify both couple and individual areas where spillover might be mitigated. This study used a within-couple approach to test for gender differences in marital-to-parenting spillover and to examine the moderating roles of gender, parental identity, and the emotion regulation strategy cognitive reappraisal in the linkages between marital-parenting spillover. From a larger study of parenting experiences, 96 mother-father couples of young children (mean age = 3.22 years) reported on measures of marital satisfaction, cognitive reappraisal, parenting identity, and parenting stress. Using path model comparisons, we found more similarities than differences between mothers and fathers and, contrary to the hypothesis, that mothers experienced greater spillover between marital satisfaction and parental distress than fathers. Results differed between outcome measures, suggesting that parents experience more spillover from marital satisfaction to parenting in the context of parental distress than in dysfunctional interactions with their child. Importantly, we found that higher parental identity strengthened marital-to-parenting spillover for mothers in contrast to expectations based on theoretical assumptions, whereas cognitive reappraisal weakened marital-to-parenting spillover, supporting the broader emotion regulation literature. These results signify the importance of situating the marriage to parenting transfer in the context of affective experiences and intensified parenting expectations, wherein flexibility in role identity may help alleviate parenting stress.
655 The Role of Insomnia Symptoms in the Relation between Perceived Vulnerability to Disease and COVID-19 Anxiety

Introduction: Individuals who report greater perceived vulnerability to disease (e.g., experience emotional discomfort to situations where pathogen transmission is likely) also have the tendency to endorse more anxiety. Insomnia is also associated with greater anxiety. This study assessed (1) whether perceived vulnerability to disease was associated with increased anxiety related to COVID-19 and (2) whether this association was moderated or mediated by insomnia symptoms. Methods: 1199 primarily female (n = 845), white (n = 982) participants (mage = 30.52) completed an online survey including the Sleep Disorder Symptom Checklist- 25 (SDS-CL-25), Perceived Vulnerability to Disease (PVD) scale, and a rating of COVID-19 anxiety (scale = 0-100;m = 55.81, sd = 25.39). Insomnia symptoms were calculated using the sum of SDS-CL-25 items 3-6 (m = 7.55, sd = 3.58). The PVD subscales germ aversion (GA;m = 4.18, sd = 1.22) and perceived vulnerability to infection (PVI;m = 3.69, sd = 1.39) were also computed. Results: Regressions were used to test if insomnia mediated the impact of GA and PVI on COVID-19 anxiety. The relations between COVID-19 anxiety and insomnia (b = 1.30, t(1197) = 6.47), GA (b =3.60, t(1197) = 6.09), and PVI (b =3.73, t(1197) = 7.20) were significant (p's < .001). Mediation analyses using the mediation package in R (bootstrap estimation = 1000 samples) showed direct effects of GA (b = 3.26, 95% CI = 2.04 - 4.42, p < .001) and PVI (b = 3.16, 95% CI = 2.00 - 4.22, p < .001) and mediation effects of insomnia (b =.44, 95% CI = .19 - .73, p < .001;b =.58, 95% CI = .33 - .86, p < .001, respectively). According to the moderation analyses, the association between PVD and COVID-19 anxiety did not significantly vary at different levels of insomnia. Conclusion: Results suggest insomnia symptoms partially mediate the relationship between perceived vulnerability to disease and COVID-19 anxiety. These associations are likely bidirectional, and therefore, more work in this area is needed, especially with regard to how improved sleep may attenuate risk factors for anxiety.
Always Coming Home and the Hinge in Ursula K. Le Guin’s Career

Always Coming Home (ACH) marks a transition in Ursula K. Le Guin’s career, from her meteoric rise in the mid-1960s to the remarkable second half of her career. An appropriate metaphor for the place of ACH in her life and work is the “hinge” that appears as a visual motif throughout the book: the empty space joining the two spirals that her imaginary future community terms the heyiya-if. The novel itself and the essays it inspired her to write show Le Guin rethinking her role and her art. Moving outward from the hinge, we find Le Guin developing its implications in her later work: metafictional play, alternative ways of living in the world, a poetic voice grounded in speech, and alternatives to the heroic conventions of myth.
Effects of Long-Term Thermal Exposure on Commercially Pure Titanium Grade 2 Elevated-Temperature Tensile Properties

Elevated-temperature tensile testing of commercially pure titanium (CP Ti) Grade 2 was conducted for as-received commercially produced sheet and following thermal exposure at 550 and 650 K (531 and 711 F) for times up to 5000 h. The tensile testing revealed some statistical differences between the 11 thermal treatments, but most thermal treatments were statistically equivalent. Previous data from room temperature tensile testing was combined with the new data to allow regression and development of mathematical models relating tensile properties to temperature and thermal exposure. The results indicate that thermal exposure temperature has a very small effect, whereas the thermal exposure duration has no statistically significant effects on the tensile properties. These results indicate that CP Ti Grade 2 will be thermally stable and suitable for long-duration space missions.
Using a Structural Equations Modeling Approach to Design and Monitor Strategic International Facility Networks

Supply chain management is no longer a local issue. As economies develop, foreign firms from more and more countries become competitive suppliers, and more and more countries become competitive locations for manufacturing. Transportation efficiencies have eased supply chain globalization. Furthermore, the internet has enhanced communication and coordination, simplifying the globalization of companies and enabling supply chain management across borders. Global companies, then, must develop strategic international facility network structures to handle the complex production and distribution of goods throughout the supply chain.
Poster: Reasoning Based on Imperfect Context Data in Adaptive Security

Enabling software systems to adjust their protection in continuously changing environments with imperfect context information is a grand challenging problem. The issue of uncertain reasoning based on imperfect information has been overlooked in traditional logic programming with classical negation when applied to dynamic systems. This paper sketches a non-monotonic approach based on Answer Set Programming to reason with imperfect context data in adaptive security where there is little or no knowledge about certainty of the actions and events.
On two collections of the ophidian genus, Cylindrophis wagler

The present study shows that the distinctive features, generally recognised between the three species ofCylindrophis Wagler, under consideration, do not stand the test of a thorough and intensive scrutiny of a representative collection. The species appear to be valid, but our ideas about their differences have to be modified. A new key for this genus, proposed by Dr. Malcolm A. Smith, is given and it is hoped that the key will stand the test of further scrutiny.
On the use of design diversity in fault tolerant and secure systems: A qualitative analysis

The design and development of modern critical systems, including cyber-physical systems, is experiencing a greater reliance on the outsourcing of systems parts and the use of third-party components and tools. These issues pose new risks and threats that affect dependability in general, and security in particular. Not only the chances are higher for system designs to be faulty, yet they can be maliciously altered. In addition, the extension of monocultures, comprising networks of interconnected systems featuring similar platforms and computing resources, facilitates the spreading and gravity of attacks. Even correctly designed systems can have side behaviors leading to vulnerabilities that are exploitable by attackers. Design diversity, although proposed and used for long time, can help palliate these emerging challenges. This paper explores and analyzes design diversity from a qualitative perspective, with respect to its fault tolerance and performance properties. The paper describes core concepts of design diversity such as non-diversity and diversity points, and provides quality measurements that help gaining a better understanding of how design diversity can impact the development of fault tolerant and secure systems.
Private searching for sensitive file signatures

We consider the problem of privately searching for sensitive or classified file signatures on an untrusted server. Inspired by the private stream searching system of Ostrovsky and Skeith, we propose a new scheme optimized for matching individual file signatures (versus keyword matching in documents). Our optimization stems from the simple observation that a complete list of matching file signatures can be replaced by a much smaller encrypted bitmask. This approach reduces a server's response overhead from being linear in the number of matched documents to linear with respect to a system robustness parameter.
Distributed network utility maximization using event-triggered barrier methods

Many problems associated with networked systems can be formulated as network utility maximization (NUM) problems. Dual decomposition is a widely used distributed algorithm that solves the NUM problem. This approach, however, uses a step size that is inversely proportional to measures of network size such as maximum path length or maximum neighborhood size. As a result, the number of messages exchanged between nodes by dual decomposition scales poorly with respect to these measures. This paper investigates the use of an event-triggered communication scheme in distributed NUM algorithms. Under event triggering, each agent broadcasts to its neighbors when a local “error” signal exceeds a state dependent threshold. In particular, this paper proposes an event-triggered distributed NUM algorithm based on barrier methods. The paper establishes state-dependent event-triggering thresholds under which the proposed algorithm converges to the optimal solution of the NUM problem. Simulation results suggest that the proposed algorithm reduces the number of message exchanges by up to two orders of magnitude, and is scale-free with respect to the above two measures of network size.
Scalable POWERparallel Systems IBM 9076 SPI

Die IBM 9076 SP1 ist das erste Produkt einer neuen Familie von IBM Parallelrechnern, der Scalable POWERparallel Systems, deren Leistung in den kommenden Jahren bis in den TeraHops Bereich gesteigert wird. Basis sind heute bis zu 64 RISC System/6000 Prozessoren als Knotenrechner und AIX als UNIX Betriebssystem, welche bis zu 8 GFlops leisten. Ein Hochleistungskoppelnetzwerk soigt fur den schnellen Datenaustausch zwischen den Prozessoren..
Conditionally parametric quantile regression for spatial data: An analysis of land values in early nineteenth century Chicago

Abstract This paper demonstrates that a conditionally parametric version of a quantile regression estimator is well suited to analyzing spatial data. The conditionally parametric quantile model accounts for local spatial effects by allowing coefficients to vary smoothly over space. The approach is illustrated using a new data set with land values for over 30,000 blocks in Chicago for 1913. Kernel density functions summarize the effects of discrete changes in the explanatory variables. The CPAR quantile results suggest that the distribution of land values shifts markedly to the right for locations near the CBD, close to Lake Michigan, near elevated train lines, and along major streets. The variance of the land value distribution is higher in locations farther from the CBD and farther from the train lines.
STRUCTURAL CHANGES IN AGRICULTURE: PRODUCTION LINKAGES AND AGRICULTURAL DEMAND-LED INDUSTRIALIZATION

This paper analyzes agriculture's forward and backward multipliers in order to assess the appropriateness of an agricultural-demand-led-industrialization strategy. Cross-section regressions are run on social accounting matrix multipliers and their decompositions obtained from a data set consisting of twenty-seven social accounting matrices. Agriculture's strong backward linkage to nonagriculture makes it a 'leading sector' in A. O. Hirschman's big-push industrialization strategy. The decompositions of these multipliers illuminate the crucial, indirect contributions made by household demands to agricultural production linkages. The potential of the linkages make agricultural-demand-led industrialization an attractive policy alternative for countries at low levels of development. Copyright 1994 by Royal Economic Society.
Electromagnetic modeling and simulation of electronic packages

The results of using a general-purpose Maxwell solver to derive equivalent circuits for various components of an electronic package are illustrated. The package can be inserted in a SPICE-type circuit simulation program to investigate the electrical performance of the package. The finite-difference-time-domain (FDTD) algorithm is found to be best suited for this purpose, and is used exclusively to derive the results presented. >
Cloning of the cDNA for Canine Interferon-γ

ABSTRACT We have taken advantage of conserved regions of cDNA sequences for interferon-γ (IFN-γ) from other species to design polymerase chain reaction (PCR) primers capable of amplifying the protein-coding region of the canine mRNA. We report here the cDNA cloning of this region from dog lymphocytes and the cDNA sequence. The predicted amino acid sequence is also reported and compared to the known sequences of these other species. The molecular clone for the canine IFN-γ will allow direct study of this important cytokine's role in graft rejection in the widely used experimental canine transplant model.
Nonprotein Nitrogen (NPN) and Free amino acid contents of dry, fermented and nonfermented sausages.

Fermented and nonfermented sausages were analyzed for concentration changes in total and nonprotein nitrogen (NPN) and in free amino acid profiles during processing. Sausages fermented by Pediococcus pentaceous at 38°C and heated to 60°C had increases (p 0·05) of NPN content and increases in only 6 of 20 free amino acids after heating to 60°C. When the effects of three starter cultures were compared, NPN concentrations after fermentation and heating and after drying were highest to lowest in the following order: P. pentaceous >P. acidilactici with M. varians >P. acidilactici. Variations of free amino acid patterns in the fermented, dried sausages were found which indicated differences in metabolic activity between the cultures. These variations did not (p > 0·05) affect sensory scores for the dried sausages. Overall, these results for rapidly fermented and mildly heated dry sausages were similar to results previously reported for 'European-style' dry sausages processed with prolonged low temperature fermentations.
Superior divisional third cranial nerve paresis: clinical and anatomical observations of 2 unique cases.

Background Within the midbrain, the third nerve nucleus is composed of a complex of subnuclei. The fascicular portion of the nerve courses through the red nucleus and exists in the midbrain just medial to the cerebral peduncle. The cisternal portion of the nerve is a single structure that divides into a superior branch and an inferior branch in the region of the cavernous sinus and superior orbital fissure. Objective To describe 2 patients with superior divisional third cranial nerve paresis resulting from a lesion involving the cisternal portion of the nerve prior to its anatomical bifurcation. Patients Case 1 was a 77-year-old man with a superior divisional third nerve palsy as the presenting manifestation of a posterior communicating artery aneurysm. Case 2 was a 41-year-old woman who developed a superior divisional third nerve palsy following anterior temporal lobectomy for epilepsy. Results In both cases, the presumed location of the lesion was the cisternal portion of the third cranial nerve. Conclusions Although the anatomical division of the third cranial nerve occurs in the region of the anterior cavernous sinus or superior orbital fissure, there is a topographical arrangement of the motor fibers within the cisternal portion of the nerve. The clinical evaluation of a patient with a third cranial nerve paresis requires an understanding of the regional neuroanatomy and topographical organization of the nerve.
DIREKTE SYNTHESE VON TRIFLUORMETHYLKETONEN AUS CARBONSAUREESTERN : TRIFLUORMETHYLIERUNG MIT TRIMETHYL(TRIFLUORMETHYL)SILAN

Bisher schwer zugangliche aliphatische und alicyclische Trifluormethylketone, die als potentielle Enzyminhibitoren pharmakologisch interessant sind, z. B. 1 bzw. 2, konnen jetzt einfach und effizient synthetisiert werden. Ausgehend von Carbonsaureestern und Trimethyl(trifluormethyl)silan wird die einstufige Reaktion in unpolaren, aprotischen Losungsmitteln durch Tetrabutylammoniumfluorid induziert und verlauft ohne Bildung von Doppeladditionsprodukten.
Pharmacological Exploitation of the Peroxisome Proliferator-Activated Receptor γ Agonist Ciglitazone To Develop a Novel Class of Androgen Receptor-Ablative Agents

On the basis of our finding that the peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma (PPARgamma) agonist ciglitazone at high doses was able to mediate PPARgamma-independent transcriptional repression of androgen receptor (AR) in a tumor cell-specific manner, we used Delta2CG, a PPARgamma-inactive analogue of ciglitazone, to conduct lead optimization to develop a novel class of AR-ablative agents. Structure-activity analysis indicates a high degree of flexibility in realigning Delta2CG's structural moieties without compromising potency in AR repression, as evidenced by the higher AR-ablative activity of the permuted isomer 9 [( Z)-5-(4-hydroxybenzylidene)-3-(1-methylcyclohexylmethyl)thiazolidine-2,4-dione]. Further modifications of 9 gave rise to 12 [( Z)-5-(4-hydroxy-3-trifluoromethylbenzylidene)-3-(1-methylcyclohexylmethyl)thiazolidine-2,4-dione], which completely inhibited AR expression in LNCaP cells at low micromolar concentrations. This AR down-regulation led to growth inhibition in LNCaP cells through apoptosis induction. Moreover, the role of AR repression in the antiproliferative effect of compound 12 was validated by the differential inhibition of cell viability between androgen-responsive and androgen-nonresponsive cells.
Die shape design optimization of sheet metal stamping process using meshfree method

A die shape design sensitivity analysis (DSA) and optimization for a sheet metal stamping process is proposed based on a Lagrangian formulation. A hyperelasticity-based elastoplastic material model is used for the constitutive relation that includes a large deformation effect. The contact condition between a workpiece and a rigid die is imposed through the penalty method with a modified Coulomb friction model. The domain of the workpiece is discretized by a meshfree method. A continuum-based DSA with respect to the rigid die shape parameter is formulated using a design velocity concept. The die shape perturbation has an effect on structural performance through the contact variational form. The effect of the deformation-dependent pressure load to the design sensitivity is discussed. It is shown that the design sensitivity equation uses the same tangent stiffness matrix as the response analysis. The linear design sensitivity equation is solved at each converged load step without the need of iteration, which is quite efficient in computation. The accuracy of sensitivity information is compared to that of the finite difference method with an excellent agreement. A die shape design optimization problem is solved to obtain the desired shape of the workpiece to minimize spring-back effect and to show the feasibility of the proposed method. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Computed Tomography for Evaluation of Mediastinal Lymph Nodes in Lung Cancer: Correlation with Surgical Staging

Computed tomography (CT) of the chest (late model) was done preoperatively in 56 candidates for resection of lung cancer. Precise borders for each node region were defined by the American Thoracic Society modification of the classification of the American Joint Committee for Cancer Staging and were used to "map" nodes seen on CT and nodes removed surgically. Metastatic involvement of mediastinal nodes was proven by mediastinoscopy in 11 patients; nodes were removed from multiple regions at thoracotomy in 45 patients. The mediastinum was clearly delineated by CT in 46 patients with determinate scans and was judged normal in 32 (CT-negative scans) and abnormal in 14 (CT-positive scans). A node was considered metastatically involved if it measured greater than 1.5 cm in diameter. Positive nodes were found at surgical staging in 3 of 32 patients with CT-negative scans and in all patients with CT-positive scans. Thus, for the 46 patients with determinate scans, sensitivity was 82%, specificity was 100%, and accuracy (true positive and true negative) was 93%. The high accuracy of CT in these patients suggests that mediastinoscopy is not necessary before thoracotomy in the patient with a CT-negative scan, but that for the patient with a CT-positive or CT-indeterminate scan, the indications for mediastinoscopy remain the same.
A markov model for discrimination learning

A theory for discrimination learning which incorporates the concept of an observing response is presented. The theory is developed in detail for experimental procedures in which two stimuli are employed and two responses are available to the subject. Applications of the model to cases involving probabilistic and nonprobabilistic schedules of reinforcement are considered; some predictions are derived and compared with experimental results.
Thermal and nonthermal escape mechanisms for terrestrial bodies

A survey is given of the classical thermal escape (Jeans or blowoff) and some eight nonthermal processes involving ions. Diffusional, energetic, and other limitations on the escape flux are discussed. Isotopic fractionation, due to differences in thermal escape rates or diffusive separation, is considered. The dominant processes acting at the five terrestrial planets and six major satellites are summarized. In general, nonthermal processes dominate over the classic thermal ones.
Communicating Benefit and Risk Information in Direct-to-Consumer Print Advertisements A Randomized Study

Background:Previous research demonstrated that providing qualitative and quantitative information in a “drug facts box” may help individuals understand prescription drug information in print-based ...
Childhood abuse and the content of adult psychotic symptoms.

During the last three decades epidemiological and clinical studies have explored prevalence rates of traumatic experiences and the impact of early trauma on a person’s life. Prevalence of traumatic events of all types in people with severe mental illness can be as high as 98% (Mueser et al., 1998), compared to rates of up to 56% in community populations (Kessler, Sonnega, Bromet, Hughes, & Nelson, 1995). In psychiatric patient populations, reported rates of childhood physical abuse (CPA) are up to 82%, childhood sexual abuse (CSA) are up to 54%, and co-occurring
Pedunculated primary hepatocellular carcinoma

A case report and two additional cases of pedunculated, primary hepatocellular carcinoma (PHCC) are added to those previously reviewed, and are compared with the more typical presentations of PHCC. Distinct differences include lesser associations with hepatitis B and alpha fetal protein among the pedunculated lesions. More importantly, this unique form of PHCC carries a much higher resectability rate that hopefully can be translated into longer survival in this subgroup.
Automatic nonrigid registration of whole body CT mice images

Three-dimensional intra- and intersubject registration of image volumes is important for tasks that include quantification of temporal∕longitudinal changes, atlas-based segmentation, computing population averages, or voxel and tensor-based morphometry. While a number of methods have been proposed to address this problem, few have focused on the problem of registering whole body image volumes acquired either from humans or small animals. These image volumes typically contain a large number of articulated structures, which makes registration more difficult than the registration of head images, to which the majority of registration algorithms have been applied. This article presents a new method for the automatic registration of whole body computed tomography (CT) volumes, which consists of two main steps. Skeletons are first brought into approximate correspondence with a robust point-based method. Transformations so obtained are refined with an intensity-based nonrigid registration algorithm that includes spatial adaptation of the transformation’s stiffness. The approach has been applied to whole body CT images of mice, to CT images of the human upper torso, and to human head and neck CT images. To validate the authors method on soft tissue structures, which are difficult to see in CT images, the authors use coregistered magnetic resonance images. They demonstrate that the approach they propose can successfully register image volumes even when these volumes are very different in size and shape or if they have been acquired with the subjects in different positions.
Silicon carbide: a versatile material for biosensor applications

Silicon carbide (SiC) has been around for more than 100 years as an industrial material and has found wide and varied applications because of its unique electrical and thermal properties. In recent years there has been increased attention to SiC as a viable material for biomedical applications. Of particular interest in this review is its potential for application as a biotransducer in biosensors. Among these applications are those where SiC is used as a substrate material, taking advantage of its surface chemical, tribological and electrical properties. In addition, its potential for integration as system on a chip and those applications where SiC is used as an active material make it a suitable substrate for micro-device fabrication. This review highlights the critical properties of SiC for application as a biosensor and reviews recent work reported on using SiC as an active or passive material in biotransducers and biosensors.
The optical constants of gallium stabilized δ-plutonium metal between 0.7 and 4.3 eV measured by spectroscopic ellipsometry using a double-windowed experimental chamber

A double-windowed vacuum-tight experimental chamber was developed, and calibrated on the spectroscopic ellipsometer over the energy range from 0.7 to 4.5 eV using a silicon wafer with an oxide layer of approximately 25 nm to remove the multiple-window effects from measurements. The plutonium sample (3 mm diameter, 0.1 mm thick) was electro-polished and mounted into the sample chamber in a glove box having a nitrogen atmosphere with less than 100 ppm moisture and oxygen content. The index of refraction n and the extinction coefficient k decrease from 3.7 to 1 and 5.5 to 1.1, respectively as the photon energy increases from 0.7 to 4.3 eV.
Perseverative behavior in rats with methamphetamine-induced neurotoxicity

Methamphetamine induces monoamine depletions thought to contribute to cognitive and behavioral dysfunctions. Previously, we reported that methamphetamine-induced neurotoxicity is associated with impaired formation of stimulus-response associations. Additionally, subjective observations suggested that behavioral flexibility might be affected. Thus, the present study examined whether methamphetamine neurotoxicity induces perseverative behavior. Rats were pretreated with (±)-methamphetamine (4 × 10 mg/kg, 2-hr intervals) or saline. Three weeks later, rats were trained to press a lever on one side of an operant chamber and then retrieve the reinforcer from a magazine on the opposite side until they reached criterion (>50 reinforcers/30-min). After four consecutive sessions performing the task at criterion, rats were sacrificed and brains removed for monoamine determinations. Methamphetamine-pretreated rats had ∼50% loss of striatal dopamine and prefrontal serotonin. Methamphetamine- and saline-pretreated rats were not different in the number of sessions required to reach criterion or in the total numbers of lever presses and/or head entries made across the four consecutive sessions at criterion-level performance. However, methamphetamine-pretreated rats earned fewer reinforcers, because they made extra lever-presses and head entries when they should have been retrieving the reinforcer or returning to the lever. Latencies for methamphetamine-pretreated rats to switch between the two behaviors also were significantly slower than latencies for controls. Interestingly, the degree of additional lever-presses negatively correlated with serotonin-transporter binding in the prefrontal cortex, even in saline-pretreated controls. These data suggest that methamphetamine-induced partial monoamine toxicity is associated with perseveration and that the degree of perseveration may depend on serotonin innervation of the frontal cortex.
Combining free flap reconstruction and craniofacial prosthetic technique for orbit, scalp, and temporal defects.

Objectives: To identify factors leading to successful application of prosthetic techniques following free flap reconstruction of the orbit, scalp, and temporal region. Study Design: Retrospective review. Methods: Twenty-eight patients who underwent free flap reconstruction for defects of these regions between 1989 and 1996 were reviewed for clinical parameters, flap loss, patient survival, and implant loss rate. Prosthetic usage rates were compared before and after introduction of a site-specific reconstructive algorithm. Results: Free flap success rate was 93%, whereas osseointegrated implant loss rate was 11%. In addition to implants, a reconstructive strategy that provided thin, vascular tissue between bone and skin, a flat platform in the temporal region, and preservation of orbital cavity depth led to increased prosthetic usage. Conclusions : Craniofacial prosthetic techniques can significantly augment the results of free flap surgery for the orbit, scalp, and temporal region. Successful combination of these techniques requires a site-specific surgical approach.