cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Effects of allergic dermatosis on health-related quality of life

Allergic dermatosis is a class of immunologic skin diseases manifested as intense itching, which potentially leads to a cycle of skin pain, damage, and infection. Information collected from clinical samples on health-related quality of life shows that some individuals may suffer from poorquality sleep, physical and emotional distress, and limitations in social functioning. Although many individual factors may moderate the impact of disease on quality of life, disease severity is consistently linked to amount of limitation. There are only sparse data from population surveys in which participants are not selected based on willingness to join a treatment trial for relief of symptoms. This article presents quality-of-life and disease burden data on 559 persons in a community survey who reported signs and symptoms consistent with allergic dermatosis. Quality of life was assessed using the Dermatology-specific Quality of Life (DSQL) questionnaire. Overall, greater disease severity was associated with higher DSQL scores. Noticeable deficits were reported among those who rated their disease as moderate or severe, especially in terms of physical discomfort, sleep disturbance, and negative self-perceptions and emotions. These complaints correlated significantly with out-of-pocket expenses for lotions and emollients to control skin disease. Despite these complaints, the median number of days from the last primary healthcare visit was 453 days, indicating that many dermatosis sufferers are not accessing expert medical care that could alleviate distress.
A diffusional contribution to lithium isotope effects

The two lithium isotopes 6Li and 7Li behave differently in biological systems. One possible explanation for these effects is that the isotopes diffuse at slightly different rates due to their different masses. Using nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) techniques, the aqueous diffusion constants of both 6Li and 7Li were measured. A small difference in these diffusion constants was detected, the magnitude of which is consistent with that predicted theoretically.
Is There a Role for Bowel Rest in Nutrition Management of Crohn's Disease?

In 1988, Greenberg and colleagues published a large randomized controlled trial to address whether bowel rest could lead to improved disease activity in patients with active Crohn's disease. The results of this study provide substantial evidence that bowel rest is not necessary to achieve remission in patients with active Crohn's disease receiving nutrition support. Before this study, great controversy existed about the use of nutrition support and bowel rest in the treatment of active Crohn's disease because of a limited number of conflicting studies providing evidence for and against its application. The results of the publication by Greenberg et al are fundamental because they helped to settle this important argument. Furthermore, this pivotal paper changed the clinical guidelines for the use of nutrition support in the management of active Crohn's disease. Since the publication of this pivotal article, many developments in the field of nutrition and in the treatment of Crohn's disease have helped validate and further its results. Subsequent studies and debate center on the use of enteral nutrition as primary treatment in patients with active Crohn's disease. Data regarding the efficacy, composition, and overall role of adult enteral nutrition in the management of Crohn's disease are presented. This article revisits the Greenberg paper and discusses some of these innovations in nutrition.
Flow equations for gluodynamics in the Coulomb gauge

A systematic procedure to consistently formulate a field theoretical, QCD bound state problem with a fixed number of constituents is outlined. The approach entails applying the Hamiltonian flow equations, which are a set of continuous unitary transformations, to a QCD motivated Hamiltonian with a confining interaction. The method is developed in detail for gluodynamics in the Coulomb gauge to obtain an effective block-diagonal Hamiltonian appropriate to a reduced Fock space with a fixed number of dynamical gluons. Standard many-body techniques are used to numerically diagonalize this Hamiltonian in a constituent two gluon Fock space. The calculated gluon condensates and glueball masses are in good agreement with QCD sum rule and lattice results. (c) 2000 The American Physical Society.
Firefly luciferase inhibition by isopropyl-3-chlorocarbanilate and isopropyl-3-chloro-hydroxycarbanilate analogues☆

Abstract The firefly luciferase ATP assay was inhibited by the herbicide, isopropyl-3-chlorocarbanilate (I), and by two of its hydroxylated metabolites, isopropyl-5-chloro-2-hydroxycarbanilate (II) and isopropyl-3-chloro-4-hydroxycarbanilate (III). The β-O-glucosides of II and III reversed the inhibition of luciferase. Compounds I and II were linear noncompetitive inhibitors in respect to ATP (Ki ≅ 20 μM, each) and were linear competive inhibitors in respect to d -luciferin (Ki ≅ 6 μM, each). Compound III was a linear competitive inhibitor in respect to both ATP and d -luciferin (Ki ≅ 1 and 6 μM, respectively). The inhibition caused by III appeared to remain competitive for both substrates when AMP was added to the system, but the inhibition exhibited by III with respect to ATP and d -luciferin was more effective (Ki ≅ 0.5 μM, each). The effects of compounds I, II, and III upon the firefly luciferase ATP assay are discussed, and a relationship between the firefly system and plant susceptibility to compound I is proposed.
High-yield versus investment-grade bonds: less risk and greater returns?

Using Bank of America/Merrill Lynch bond yield indexes, we compare the returns on investment-grade bonds to the returns on high-yield bonds over the period from January 1997 through mid-August 2011, a period marked by the collapse of the technology sector in early 2000 and the financial crisis in 2008. We compare return and risk measures under the assumption of a normal distribution with those obtained under the assumption of a stable distribution. When a normal distribution is assumed, we see a higher expected return associated with a lower SD on the high-yield bond returns relative to investment-grade bond returns. However, we also find that the returns on both high-yield bonds and investment-grade bonds exhibit stable (fat-tailed) distributions, with the fat tail more pronounced for the high-yield bond series. These results suggest that the assumption of a distribution that allows for fat tails and skewness is important for identifying the risk and return characteristics of these bond series.
Finite element analysis of nonsmooth contact

This work develops robust contact algorithms capable of dealing with complex contact situations involving several bodies with corners. Amongst the mathematical tools we bring to bear on the problem is nonsmooth analysis, following Clarke (F.H. Clarke. Optimization and nonsmooth analysis. John Wiley and Sons, New York, 1983.). We specifically address contact geometries for which both the use of normals and gap functions have difficulties and therefore precludes the application of most contact algorithms proposed to date. Such situations arise in applications such as fragmentation, where angular fragments undergo complex collision sequences before they scatter. We demonstrate the robustness and versatility of the nonsmooth contact algorithms developed in this paper with the aid of selected two and three-dimensional applications.
Contractarian model of the decline in classical liberalism

Much of the recent economics literature has emphasized the growth of government bureaucracy and the inefficiency of public sector institutions. Some of this literature has consisted of empirical studies suggesting that output produced in the public sector is produced at greater cost than if it has been produced in the private sector.' These empirical studies have been supported by a wide variety of theoretical models which suggest that the institutional structure does not provide bureaucrats with the incentive to allocate resources efficiently.2 Other studies have examined the political process and come to the conclusion that voters have an incentive to favor an inefficient allocation of resources.3 Still other studies have alleged large welfare losses resulting from the competition for monopoly rents that can be produced by government restrictions of entry into some economic activities.4 The central theme of all these studies is that big government tends allocate resources inefficiently. This type of research has seen a relatively rapid growth in the economics literature recently s and may reflect, in part anyway, the increasing proportion of economic resources that are allocated through the public sector. In both the United States and the United Kingdom, the public sector continues to command an increasing proportion of economic resources, and the trend shows no signs of abatement. Following the trend of the economy, the economics literature is devoting an increasing amount of attention to the allocation of economic resources through political processes. Although many studies have examined, both theoretically and empirically, the economics of resources allocation through the public sector, this literature has done little to explain the relative increase in the size of the public sector.6 The purpose of this paper is to present a model that explains why a laissez-
Gitelman's syndrome revisited: An evaluation of symptoms and health-related quality of life

Gitelman's syndrome revisited: An evaluation of symptoms and health-related quality of life. Background Gitelman's syndrome (GS), also called Gitelman's variant of Bartter's syndrome, is an autosomal recessive renal disorder characterized by hypokalemia, hypomagnesemia, metabolic alkalosis, and hypocalciuria. GS is caused by inactivating mutations in the thiazide-sensitive sodium chloride cotransporter gene ( NCCT ). It is also known as the "milder" form of Bartter's syndrome, as patients with GS are usually diagnosed in adulthood during routine investigation. Symptoms reported in the literature range from asymptomatic, to mild symptoms of cramps and fatigue, to severe manifestations such as tetany, paralysis, and rhabdomyolysis. This is the first systematic evaluation of a large group of patients with genetically defined GS. Methods We evaluated the symptoms and quality of life (QOL) in 50 adult GS patients with confirmed mutations in NCCT , using a standardized questionnaire. This cohort was compared with 25 age- and sex-matched controls. Results GS patients were significantly more symptomatic than controls. The most common symptoms were salt craving, with musculoskeletal symptoms such as cramps, muscle weakness, and aches and constitutional symptoms such as fatigue, generalized weakness and dizziness, and nocturia and polydipsia. Forty-five percent of GS patients consider their symptoms a moderate to big problem. Measures of health-related QOL were significantly lower in GS patients compared with controls, particularly in terms of role limitations caused by physical health, emotion, level of energy, and general health perception. Conclusions This descriptive study indicates that GS is not an asymptomatic disease and adversely affects QOL in these patients. Further studies are needed to assess the impact of therapy on symptoms and QOL.
Epigenetic remodeling and stem cells

Epigenetic factors can alter DNA function without changing DNA sequence, and play important roles for determining the individual characteristics of different cell types. Three widely studied mechanisms of epigenetic regulation in cells are DNA methylation, histone modifications and microRNAs. Cells rely on these mechanisms for many of their functions and pass their epigenetic signatures to daughter cells. Recently, it has been shown that pluripotent cells not only express different genes compared to nonpluripotent cells, but also show different epigenetic profiles. These differences are thought to be important for pluripotency and unique epigenetic profiles keep cells pluripotent. In this review, we focus on the epigenetic remodeling and regulation in stem cells and different approaches taken to understand them.
Racial Differences in Runaways

Male adolescent Ss who had run away from a training school were compared in terms of race (Caucasian or Negro), age, and total time as inmates. Negro Ss accounted for a significantly fewer number o...
Fetal sex-based differences in maternal hormones, angiogenic factors, and immune mediators during pregnancy and the postpartum period.

Problem Several pregnancy complications have disparities based on the sex of the fetus. It is unknown whether the sex of the fetus differentially alters the maternal immune milieu, potentially contributing to the observed differences. Method of study Using maternal plasma collected during 38 uncomplicated pregnancies (19 males, 19 females), we compared levels of cytokines, sex hormones, and angiogenic factors throughout gestation and postpartum. Results Male fetal sex was associated with higher levels of proinflammatory cytokines (G-CSF, IL-12p70, IL-21, and IL-33) and angiogenic factors (PlGF and VEGF-A) compared with female fetal sex at multiple timepoints. Female fetal sex was associated with higher levels of regulatory cytokines (IL-5, IL-9, IL-17, and IL-25). IL-27 increased throughout pregnancy regardless of fetal sex. There was no fetal sex-based difference in analyte concentrations at the postpartum measurement. Conclusion Women carrying a male fetus exhibit a more proinflammatory/proangiogenic immune milieu than women carrying a female fetus.
Cooling augments platelet-induced contraction of peripheral arteries of the dog.

AbstractThe effect of cooling on platelet-induced contractions was studied. Rings of canine saphenous arteries were suspended for isometric tension recording in organ baths filled with aerated physiological salt solution. Norepinephrine, 5-hydroxytryptamine, and autologous aggregating platelets all caused contractions that were augmented by cooling the bath content from 37 to 24°C. These contractions were inhibited, in a concentration-dependent manner, by the serotonergic antagonist ketanserin. The alpha1-adrenergic antagonist, prazosin, in concentrations causing progressive inhibition of contractions evoked by norepinephrine did not affect the response to either 5-hydroxytryptamine or platelets. Aggregating platelets were found to release 5-hydroxytryptamine in sufficient amounts to account for the observed contractions. Pretreatment of platelets with the cyclo-oxygenase inhibitor meclofenamate reduced the amount of thromboxane liberated by aggregating platelets but did not influence evoked contractions....
A random coefficient model of speculative attacks: The case of the Mexican peso

A considerable body of theoretical and empirical literature has developed seeking to explain the timing, magnitude, and mechanics of speculative attacks against currencies. This paper extends the empirical specification of the traditional speculative attack model by developing a random coefficient (RC) model which, as we show, encompasses a variety of fixed-coefficient models as special cases. Two classes of models (fixed- and random-coefficient models) are estimated for the case of Mexican peso over the period January 1988 to Novemeber 1994, while forecasts of the peso/U.S. dollar exchange rate are generated for the period December 1994 through December 1995. The comparison of forecast errors generated by five model specifications indicates that forecasts based on the RC procedures are superior to those based on the fixed-coefficient estimation. It is also shown that there are good theoretical reasons why the RC procedure performs better in prediction than the fixed-coefficient procedure.
Change with age in limbal conjunctival epithelial Langerhans cells.

The distribution of Langerhans cells (LC) in corneal and conjunctival epithelial flat mounts obtained from outbred albino Swiss-Webster mice of various ages was examined by histochemieal methods. The LC stain positively with ATPase and were negative to DOPA-oxidase. Mouse pup limbal conjunctival epithelium showed one or two LC/mm2. LC began to significantly increase in number by day 31 and ranged from 150-205/mm2 in 7-48 week old mice. A slight decrease in LC was seen in 12 and 24 month old mice.
Microstructural characterization studies to relate the properties of thermal-spray coatings to feedstock and spray conditions ☆

This paper reports how microstructural information, obtainable for thick free-standing thermal-spray (plasma-sprayed) ceramic deposits by small-angle scattering, can be used to explore the relationships among the feedstock or spray process conditions, the anisotropic void and crack microstructures of the deposits, and technologically important deposit properties such as thermal conductivity. The application of near-surface small-angle scattering to characterize the microstructure of sub-millimeter-thick coatings on the substrate is also reported for the first time.
The Socorro mission: Culture, economic development, and the politics of historic preservation along the Río Grande/Río Bravo

El Paso is an archetypical part of what many North Americans consider the "Old West." Though not as famous as the Grand Canyon or Yellowstone Park, El Paso is strongly associated in the American imaginary with western expansion and adventures among wild lands and primitive peoples (Fox, 1999; King, 2004). In U.S. cultural mythology, American history is the glorious march of Euro-American culture from its east-coast founding by the Pilgrims to its culmination on the golden shores of California (Zinn, 2003). What this triumphal history usually neglects is the struggles of nonwhite, non-Anglo, often nonmale "Others" (Limerick, 1988). Since El Paso history is also part of Latin American history and the contemporary residents of El Paso are primarily of "Latin" and indigenous descent, its history must be rethought from multiple angles.
A Pragmatic Approach to Macrosocial Theory

Morris Janowitz has been a major contributor to sociological theory and research over the last live decades. The range of his empirical work and the logic of his theory–based on philosophical pragmatism and opposed to “grand” formulations– obscure the magnitude of his contribution to social theory, despite his pervasive influence on research in particular subfields. This paper provides a brief overview of the logic and substance of Janowitz's contribution to macrosociology which is focused on his concepts of institutional analysis, social control, and institution building. The use of these concepts is illustrated substantively in the light of current trends in the development of advanced industrial society.
A linked list data structure for a simple linear regression algorithm

Abstract This paper presents a special purpose linear programming algorithm to solve simple linear regression problems with least absolute value criterion. A special data structure is implemented and discussed in detail. Computational results are given.
Nanopore Unzipping Of Ultra-long Dna Repeats For Single-molecule Mutation Detection

Rolling-circle amplification (RCA) is an isothermal method for the hybridization-triggered enzymatic synthesis of hundreds to millions repeats of small, single-stranded, circular DNA. Using RCA, we create tandem repeats of a DNA sequence from human genome source, serving as a signal amplifier for ultra-sensitive detection of specific nucleic acids mismatches. Solid-state nanopores have been shown to be an extremely useful tool in probing and characterizing biopolymers on the single molecule level. In our recent study1 sub-2 nm solid state pores have been successfully utilized to unzip small DNA duplexes, and detect base mismatches. Here we demonstrate for the first time that kilo-base RCA products can be characterized using solid-state nanopores, allowing us to enhance mismatch detection sensitivity and accuracy by hybridization with oligos' containing the consensus sequence. This study is an important milestone for the realization of single nucleotide polymorphism and for nanopore sequencing methodologies, demonstrating the feasibility of sequential unzipping, and translocation of extremely long ssDNA molecules.1. McNally, B., Wanunu, M. & Meller, A. (2008) Electro-mechanical unzipping of individual DNA molecules using synthetic sub-2 nm pores. Nano Letters ASAP article 10.1021/nl802218f, in press.
POLLEN WALL ULTRASTRUCTURE OF SELECTED DISPERSED MONOSULCATE POLLEN FROM THE CENOMANIAN, DAKOTA FORMATION, OF CENTRAL USA

Seven dispersed monosulcate pollen taxa from the Dakota Formation of Minnesota, Nebraska, and Kansas were examined ultrastructurally. Rugubivesiculites rugosus has gymnosperm affinities based on its anasulcate aperture and the presence and nature of the formation of sacci. Stellatopollis sp. has exine sculpturing restricted to taxa with angiosperm affinities and is monosulcate. The affinities of the other five monosulcate taxa are uncertain and the exines are tectategranular. The sulcus in many of the remaining five taxa are flanked by small flange-like sacci. These five taxa have features found in gymnosperms and also some features of primitive extant angiosperms. The combination of characters of the pollen types presented here does not entirely agree with our current concept of primitive pollen characters as understood from extant ranalean angiosperms.
Allowed Values of Ratios of the Rotational Diffusion Constants for a Radical with Four Equivalent I = 1/2 Nuclei

The ESR line widths of a radical (S = 1/2) with four equivalent I = 1/2 nuclei divided into two completely equivalent pairs can be used to obtain ratios of the elements of the rotational diffusion tensor when it is not possible to determine the individual tensor elements, Di. Two nuclei are equivalent if the zero-order spin Hamiltionian, H0, is invariant with respect to their interchange; the nuclei are completely equivalent if the time-dependent spin Hamiltonian responsible for the relaxation, H1(t), is also invariant with respect to their interchange. The anion radicals of para-disubstituted benzenes are examples of this type of spin equivalence; the ratio of the reorientational line width parameters C/B can be used to obtain a second degree equation that gives two values of ρx = Dx/Dz for a given ρy = Dy/Dz ≥ 0. The analysis of C/B for p-benzosemiquinone (PBSQ) in ethyl alcohol (EtOH) shows that one of the values of ρx is always positive while the other is always negative (and physically unacceptable)....
Asking ‘why’ from a distance facilitates emotional processing: A reanalysis of Wimalaweera and Moulds (2008)

Wimalaweera and Moulds [Wimalaweera, S. W., & Moulds, M. L. (2008). Processing memories of anger-eliciting events: the effect of asking ‘why’ from a distance. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 46, 402–409] reported a failure to replicate previous findings demonstrating the effectiveness of analyzing anger-related experiences from a self-distanced perspective for reducing negative affect in the short-term (Ayduk, O., & Kross, E. (2008). [Enhancing the pace of recovery: self-distanced-analysis of negative experiences reduces blood pressure reactivity. Psychological Science, 9(3), 229–231; Kross, E., Ayduk, O., & Mischel, W. (2005). When asking “why” does not hurt. Psychological Science, 16, 709–715.] and facilitating adaptive emotional processing over time [Kross, E., & Ayduk, O. (2008). Facilitating adaptive emotional analysis: distinguishing distanced-analysis of depressive experiences from immersed-analysis and distraction. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin]. A reanalysis of their data that takes into account effect sizes and participants' scores on the avoidance subscale of the Impact of Events Scale, which were not reported in the original write-up, contradict this and a number of other conclusions reported in their article. In this article, we review the key findings that emerged from this reanalysis.
Continuity in intellectual growth from 12 months to 9 years

Abstract The traditional view that infant tests of development do not measure intellience because they cannot include appropriate abstract, symbolic content is discussed and an alternative interpretation is proposed. Intercorrelations of measures of intelligence from 9 months to 9 years are used as the principal empirical basis for the alternative interpretation. Although correlations over time decrease at a more rapid rate in infancy, change appears to smooth and continuous starting at 12 months. Nine months is questionable and earlier ages can be rejected. Estimated true score stabilities obtained by fitting the simplex model to the observed correlations increase rapidly during infancy and the preschool period and appear to level off at about .97 during the school years. This degree of stability is certainly high but, also, clearly imperfect. It allows for a great deal of change in relative intelligence during the school years. The hypothesis that infant tests, starting at 12 months, measure the construct of general intelligence on which children's relative scores change rapidly early in development cannot be rejected in these data.
Hormone replacement therapy for menopausal women.

Hormone replacement therapy is postmenopausal women offers important benefits for preventing chronic disabling diseases, including prevention of osteoporosis and decreased risk of colon cancer. Although such therapy also carries various possible increased risks, most women will benefit from this therapy.
The Role of Hydrogeography and Climate in the Landscape Epidemiology of West Nile Virus in New York State from 2000 to 2010

The epidemiology and ecology of West Nile virus (WNV) have not yet been completely described. In particular, the specific roles of climate and water in the landscape in the occurrence of human WNV cases remain unknown. This study used Poisson regression to describe the relationships between WNV cases and temperature, precipitation, and the hydrogeography of the landscape in New York State from 2000 to 2010. Fully adjusted models showed that hydrogeographic area was significantly inversely associated with WNV cases (incidence rate ratio (IRR) = 0.99; 95% C.I. = 0.98–0.997, p = 0.04), such that each one square kilometer increase in hydrogeographic area was associated with a 1% decrease in WNV incidence. This association was independent of both temperature, which was also associated with WNV incidence (IRR = 2.06; 95% C.I. = 1.84–2.31, p<0.001), and precipitation, which was not (IRR = 1.0; 95% C.I. = 0.99–1.01, p = 0.16). While the results are only suggestive due to the county-level aggregated data, these findings do identify a potentially important surveillance signal in the landscape epidemiology of WNV infection.
Intermittency in multiparticle dynamics

Abstract A review is given on the recent studies of multiplicity fluctuations in narrow rapidity windows in multiparticle production processes. Simple models involving sequential branching are given to show how power-law behaviors of appropriate moments can arise. The specific branching model in o 3 theory is discussed in the skeleton form. Questions related to diffractive processes are raised.
Impact of Thrust Alignment on Orbital Debris Removal by Ground-Based Lasers

The rising population of orbital debris has generatedmany studies ofmitigation concepts, one of which is the use of repetitively pulsed ground-based lasers, which was studied during the ORION project in the early 1990s. The objective was to verify the minimum velocity change required to cause a reentry within one orbit, using conservative assumptions. Both analytical and numerical solutions to the equations of motion were applied. The report covers the impact if the orbital debris does notmake a direct pass over the laser. Also reported are investigations of the impact of object size and density, and the impact of atmospheric density on the velocity change required to deorbit. The conclusion is that, with someminor exceptions, the ORION required velocity change results appear to be reasonable for concept studies for direct overhead passes. Debris at nonoverhead offset angles of 30 increases total velocity change by about 15%, but increases the velocity change per laser pulse by over 30% above requirements for an overhead pass. Allowing laser pulses to continue until the object is overhead or at closest approach increases total energy requirements but lowers the energy per pulse, an important design consideration.
Stimulating Entrepreneurial Practices in the Public Sector: The Roles of Organizational Characteristics

Unlike the practices of contracting out and privatization, which reduce public sector involvement and responsibility in service provision, public entrepreneurial practices may be one of the best ways to improve government performance and meet citizens’ demand efficiently and effectively. This study examines the relationships between organizational characteristics and public entrepreneurship in order to provide empirical support for entrepreneurial practices in state governments in the United States. The study found that most organizational characteristics influence the entrepreneurial behaviors defined as risk-taking, innovativeness, and proactiveness. The findings suggest that organizational structures and strategies in the public sector need to be adjusted to stimulate entrepreneurial activities and culture through opportunity-driven management.
Energy conservation via domatic partitions

Using a dominating set as a coordinator in wireless networks has been proposed in many papers as an energy conservation technique. Since the nodes in a dominating set have the extra burden of coordination, energy resources in such nodes will drain out more quickly than in other nodes. To maximize the lifetime of nodes in the network,it has been proposed that the role of coordinators be rotated among the nodes in the network. One abstraction that has been considered for the problem of picking a collection of coordinators and cycling through them, is the domatic partition problem. This is the problem of partitioning the set of the nodes of the network into dominating sets with the aim of maximizing the number of dominating sets. In this paper,we consider the k -domatic partition problem. A k -dominating set is a subset D of nodes such that every node in the network is at distance at most k from D. The k-domatic partition problem seeks to partition the network into maximum number of k-dominating sets.We point out that from the point of view of saving energy,it may be better to construct a k-domatic partition for k >1.We present three deterministic, distributed algorithms for finding large k-domatic partitions for k > 1. Each of our algorithms constructs a k-domatic partition of size at least a constant fraction of the largest possible (k 1)-domatic partition. Our first algorithm runs in constant time on unit ball graphs (UBGs) in Euclidean space assuming that all nodes know their positions in a global coordinate system. Our second algorithm drops knowledge of global coordinates and instead assumes that pairwise distances between neighboring nodes are known. This algorithm runs in O(log* n ) time on UBGs in a metric space with constant doubling dimension. Our third algorithm drops all reliance on geometric information, using connectivity information only. This algorithm runs in O(log Δ · log *n) time on growth-bounded graphs. Euclidean UBGs, UBGs in metric spaces with constant doubling dimension, and growth-bounded graphs are successively more general models of wireless networks and all three models include the well-known, but somewhat simplistic wireless network models such as unit disk graphs.
Isotopic variations in the rock-forming elements in meteorites

Variations in isotopic abundances of the major rock-forming elements can be used as tracers for chemical processes in the solar nebula, and may also provide links to the presolar cloud from which the solar nebula was derived. The paper reviews recent developments involving meteoritic abundances of the isotopes of O, Mg, Si, Ca, Ti, Cr, Fe, and Ni). Some of the effects observed are due to mass-dependent fractionation, and some are due to interaction of isotopically distinct reservoirs, reflecting incomplete homogenization of materials with different nucleosynthetic histories.
Supervised Remote Robot with Guided Autonomy and Teleoperation (SURROGATE): A framework for whole-body manipulation

The use of the cognitive capabilties of humans to help guide the autonomy of robotics platforms in what is typically called “supervised-autonomy” is becoming more commonplace in robotics research. The work discussed in this paper presents an approach to a human-in-the-loop mode of robot operation that integrates high level human cognition and commanding with the intelligence and processing power of autonomous systems. Our framework for a “Supervised Remote Robot with Guided Autonomy and Teleoperation” (SURROGATE) is demonstrated on a robotic platform consisting of a pan-tilt perception head, two 7-DOF arms connected by a single 7-DOF torso, mounted on a tracked-wheel base. We present an architecture that allows high-level supervisory commands and intents to be specified by a user that are then interpreted by the robotic system to perform whole body manipulation tasks autonomously. We use a concept of “behaviors” to chain together sequences of “actions” for the robot to perform which is then executed real time.
The Barriers to Electronic Medical Record Systems and How to Overcome Them

Institutions all want electronic medical record (EMR) systems. They want them to solve their record movement problems, to improve the quality and coherence of the care process, to automate guidelines and care pathways to assist clinical research, outcomes management, and process improvement. EMRs are very difficult to construct because the existing electronic data sources, e.g., laboratory systems, pharmacy systems, and physician dictation systems, reside on many isolated islands with differing structures, differing levels of granularity, and different code systems. To accelerate EMR deployment we need to focus on the interfaces instead of the EMR system. We have the interface solutions in the form of standards: IP, HL7/ ASTM, DICOM, LOINC, SNOMED, and others developed by the medical informatics community. We just have to embrace them. One remaining problem is the efficient capture of physician information in a coded form. Research is still needed to solve this last problem. n J Am Med Inform Assoc. 1997;4:213 - 221.
Inhibition of MMP-13 with modified polymer particles

Abstract Matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) are proteases that destroy the extracellular matrix and have important roles in the foreign body response, wound healing, and disease. Of particular importance is the chronic wound environment in which MMP activity is increased, resulting in destruction of the de novo extracellular matrix. One potential treatment of these wounds would be to use dressings that are capable of inhibiting MMP activity. In this study, we examined the effect of seven polymer modifiers (2-amino-3-guanidinopropionic acid, arginine, carnitine, citrulline, creatine, 3-guanidino propionic acid, and Nw-nitro-L-arginine) on MMP-13 activity. MMP-13 is a collagenase that is present in chronic wounds and is zinc dependent. Our results showed that these polymer modifiers were able to inhibit MMP-13 activity to varying degrees. The mechanism of inhibition appears to be binding zinc to the modifiers.
Automated model building and modeling of alcohol oxidation in high temperature water

Software for the computer generation of kinetic models was exploited to construct a mechanistic kinetic model for alcohol oxidation in high temperature (300 {le} T/{degree}C {le} 380) water. The complexities of the oxidation mechanism were captured by a detailed mechanism consisting of eight reaction families. These included hydrogen abstraction by oxygen, hydrogen abstraction by radical, {beta}-scission, non-terminating radical reactions, isomerizations, decomposition, molecular addition and termination steps. The mechanistic model was generated computationally, using the graph theory notions where the molecules and radicals are represented as atomic connectivity matrices and the reactions as matrix operators. The free-radical kinetics of C1-C4 alcohols exhibited features of both gas-phase combustion and liquid-phase oxidation chemistry. The imposition of Evans-Polanyi relationships for the associated rate constants provided a significant reduction in model parameters with little loss of predictive capability. Kinetic parameter vectors, one for each reaction family, obtained by optimizing the model predictions to pure-component ethanol data provided a very good fit to pure component kinetics of other alcohols, as well as mixture kinetics.
Fast timing recovery for partial-response signaling systems

An algorithm for fast adjustment of the sample-timing phase in receivers for communication or storage systems using partial-response signaling is presented. For initial adjustment of the timing phase, a known preamble is transmitted. At the beginning of adjustment, previous timing-recovery schemes could occasionally hang up for an extended period of time at the unstable equilibrium point halfway between the desired sampling times. The presented algorithm eliminates the hangup problem by introducing a hysteresis effect that greatly diminishes the probability of reversals of the once chosen direction of timing-phase adjustment. Thus, reliable adjustment of the timing phase with a much shorter preamble is possible. The efficiency of the method is demonstrated by computer simulation results. >
Biodegradation of MTBE and BTEX in an aerobic fluidized bed reactor.

An aerobic fluidized bed reactor (FBR) was operated for the removal of methyl tert-butyl ether (MTBE) and benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, and p-xylene (BTEX) from water. The reactor was seeded with a mixed culture adapted to MTBE. Granular activated carbon (GAC) was used as the biological attachment medium. Influent MTBE to the reactor was 7.8 mg/L MTBE, with a flow rate of 22.7 L/day, and an empty bed contact time of 1 hour. The acclimation period required was relatively short, about 30 days before reaching an average stable effluent concentration of 18.5 ± 10 μg/L. BTEX was introduced to the feed at an equivalent chemical oxygen demand (COD) as the MTBE at day 225 and was biodegraded spontaneously with no apparent acclimation period required. The average influent of each of the four BTEX compounds was about 2 mg/L, and the range of the average effluent concentrations was 1.4-2.2 μg/L. After achieving 180 days of stable performance with BTEX addition, the total flow rate to the reactor was gradually increased by 20% increments to 160% of the original flow (36.4 L/day). Increases by 20% and 40% had no apparent effect on reactor performance, but increase by 60% required 30 days before effluent quality returned to previous values. Composition of the culture was monitored throughout operation of the reactor using denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE). The culture consisted of Flavobacteria-Cytophaga and organisms with high similarity to the known MTBE degrader PM1.
Nanoelectronics challenges for the 21 st century

Leading edge CMOS technologies today are unique examples of nanoscale engineering at an industrial scale. As we celebrate this remarkable achievement of our industry that forms the ever-expanding technology basis of modern society we cannot help but ponder the question of how we can continue to push the envelope of nano-electronics. With the end of Si FET scaling appearing increasingly near, searching for more scalable transistor structures in Si and in "beyond-Si" solutions has become imperative; from relatively "easy" transitions to non-planar Si structures, to the incorporation of high mobility semiconductors, like Ge and III-V's, to even higher mobility new materials such as carbon nanotubes, graphene, or other molecular structures. And even further, there are searches for new information representation and processing concepts beyond charge in FETs, as for example, in spin-state devices. Of course, declaring silicon dead is premature at best, and with this in mind I will discuss the challenges and possible scenaria for the introduction of novel nano-electronic devices.
A novel sequence representation for unsupervised analysis of human activities

Formalizing computational models for everyday human activities remains an open challenge. Many previous approaches towards this end assume prior knowledge about the structure of activities, using which explicitly defined models are learned in a completely supervised manner. For a majority of everyday environments however, the structure of the in situ activities is generally not known a priori. In this paper we investigate knowledge representations and manipulation techniques that facilitate learning of human activities in a minimally supervised manner. The key contribution of this work is the idea that global structural information of human activities can be encoded using a subset of their local event subsequences, and that this encoding is sufficient for activity-class discovery and classification. In particular, we investigate modeling activity sequences in terms of their constituent subsequences that we call event n-grams. Exploiting this representation, we propose a computational framework to automatically discover the various activity-classes taking place in an environment. We model these activity-classes as maximally similar activity-cliques in a completely connected graph of activities, and describe how to discover them efficiently. Moreover, we propose methods for finding characterizations of these discovered classes from a holistic as well as a by-parts perspective. Using such characterizations, we present a method to classify a new activity to one of the discovered activity-classes, and to automatically detect whether it is anomalous with respect to the general characteristics of its membership class. Our results show the efficacy of our approach in a variety of everyday environments.
Bis((1R,2S,5R)‐menthyl)(phenyl)tin Hydride

[243963-59-9] C26H44Sn (MW 475.24) InChI = 1S/2C10H19.C6H5.Sn.H/c2*1-8(2)10-6-4-9(3)5-7-10;1-2-4-6-5-3-1;;/h2*6,8-10H,4-5,7H2,1-3H3;1-5H;;/t2*9-,10-;;;/m00.../s1 InChIKey = VFXUBSPBEOIKFK-LBKHRAORSA-N (reagent used for enantioselective free radical reduction reactions) Solubility: soluble in benzene, toluene. Form Supplied in: colorless oil; not commercially available.
Co-Optimization of signal, power, and thermal distribution networks for 3D ICs

Heat removal and power delivery are two major reliability concerns in the 3D stacked IC technology. Liquid cooling based on micro-fluidic channels is proposed as a viable solution to dramatically reduce the operating temperature of 3D ICs. In addition, designers use a highly complex hierarchical power distribution network in conjunction with decoupling capacitors to deliver currents. However, these thermal and power/ground interconnects together with those used for signal delivery compete with each other for routing resources including various types of Through-Silicon-Vias (TSVs). This paper presents the first work on routing with these multi-functional interconnects in 3D: signal, thermal, and power distribution networks. We demonstrate how to consider various physical, electrical, and thermo-mechanical requirements of these multi-functional interconnects to successfully complete routing while addressing various reliability concerns.
Considerations for selecting nutrient-calculation software: evaluation of the nutrient database

With the growing number of nutrient-calculation software packages on the market, potential users are faced with the increasingly difficult task of determining which system best meets their needs. Most published reviews of nutrient-calculation software focus on program features rather than on the quality of the nutrient database on which all calculations are based. This is unfortunate because program features are of little consequence if the nutrients calculated are not of acceptable quality. The purpose of this paper is to focus on the evaluation of the nutrient database as the foremost consideration in selecting nutrient-calculation software. Six questions that may be used as a guide for evaluating a nutrient database are presented and discussed.
The Search for Replacements for Unfractionated Heparin

Antithrombotic therapy is central to the management of patients presenting with an acute coronary syndrome (ACS). In addition to powerful new antiplatelet therapies, multiple agents capable of inhibiting thrombin are now available to clinicians (Figure⇓). Figure 1. Activated coagulation cascade and platelet aggregation in patients with an ACS. A, With disruption of a vulnerable plaque, tissue factor (TF) is exposed and ultimately complexes with activated factor VII (VIIa). TF:VIIa complex converts factor X to its active form (Xa). Through a multiplier effect, a single molecule of factor Xa leads to downstream production of many molecules of thrombin through its participation in prothrombinase complex along with factor V and calcium (Ca++) on a phospholipid surface, such as membrane of activated platelets (Plt). Thrombin is a potent agonist for platelet activation via binding to thrombin receptor on platelets. Aggregates of platelets are formed by cross-bridging via attachments of ligands such as fibrinogen (FGN) to the GP IIb/IIIa receptors on adjacent platelets. B, Sites of action of antithrombin and antiplatelet agents. Relative strength of actions at various positions is shown semiquantitatively by size of font in diagram. Thus, UFH has similar inhibitory action against thrombin and factor Xa, whereas LMWH has greater relative inhibitory capacity against factor Xa than thrombin. Direct antithrombins have little effect on generation of thrombin but are potent inhibitors of thrombin that has been formed. In contrast, TFPI and related compounds act more proximally in coagulation cascade to inhibit formation of factor Xa and limit downstream production of thrombin. Combinations of antithrombins shown and antiplatelet agents (bottom of diagram) are effective in reducing propensity to thrombus formation at the site of a disrupted vulnerable plaque. Although familiar to the vast majority of clinicians, unfractionated heparin (UFH) has the disadvantages of a variable anticoagulant effect (necessitating frequent monitoring of …
A statistical thermodynamic calculation of the equilibrium concentrations of an arbitrary set of point defects

Abstract A set of equations for the equilibrium concentrations of a set of defects, each of whose character may be arbitrarily specified, is generated by writing an expression for the total Gibbs free energy of the system, G , explicitly including the defects' configurational entropy, and requiring that ∂G ∂χ i = 0 for all the independently variable defect concentrations χ i . In certain cases it is necessary to solve these equations explicitly, as when no one defect is clearly most stable, but usually it is sufficiently accurate to approximate them by an expansion to second order in the χ i s, if these are small. The expansion is presented and an iterative solution which is also accurate to second order is derived therefrom. Two examples of the use of this formalism are given. In the first we have estimated the errors involved in the usual calculations of the concentrations of vacancies, solute-vacancy pairs, and disolute-vacancy trimers in dilute alloys. The results indicate that appreciable error may result at concentrations over 2 per cent or if there is a strong energy of binding in the defects. In the second example the method is applied to dilute lead (gold) alloys and it is shown that observed changes in resistivity may be adequately described in terms of a transition between split-interstitials, which predominate at low temperatures, and interstitial-vacancy pairs, which predominate at high temperatures.