cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Lifetime prevalence of substance or alcohol abuse and dependence among subjects with bipolar I and II disorders in a voluntary registry.

Objective: To evaluate the prevalence of substance abuse dependence and/or alcohol abuse dependence among subjects with bipolar I versus bipolar II disorder in a voluntary registry. Method: One hundred randomly selected registrants in a voluntary case registry for bipolar disorder were interviewed, using the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV Axis I Disorders, to validate the diagnosis of this registry. Corroborative information was obtained from medical records, family members and the treating psychiatrist. Eighty-nine adults (18–65 years) met criteria for bipolar disorder (bipolar I=71, bipolar II=18) and were included in this analysis. Results: Forty-one (57.8%) subjects with bipolar I disorder abused, or were dependent on one or more substances or alcohol, 28.2% abused, or were dependent on, two substances or alcohol, and 11.3% abused or were dependent on three or more substances or alcohol. Nearly 39% of bipolar II subjects abused or were dependent on one or more substances, nearly 17% were dependent on two or more substances or alcohol, and 11% were dependent on three or more substances or alcohol. Alcohol was the most commonly abused drug among either bipolar I or II subjects. Conclusions: Consistent with other epidemiologic and hospital population studies, this voluntary bipolar disorder registry suggests a high prevalence of comorbidity with alcohol and/or substance abuse dependence. Bipolar I subjects appear to have higher rates of these comorbid conditions than bipolar II subjects; however, as the number of bipolar II subjects was rather small, this suggestion needs confirmation.
RELEASABLE ANNULOPLASTY RING INSERTION – A NOVEL EXPERIMENTAL IMPLANTATION MODEL

Objective:Experimental testingof annuloplastyring (AR) effectsrequires a control groupif the AR is implanted conventionally. Our goal was to develop a reversible AR insertion method that allows for beating heart assessment with and without an AR, providing the ability to evaluate the effects of an AR in the same animal (internal control). We tested the feasibility of this technique in an in vivo ovine model using four-dimensional (4-D) radiopaque marker tracking. Methods: Before the operation, a rigid AR (Edwards Geoform W , Edwards Lifesciences, Irvine, CA, USA) was prepared by stitching the middle parts of eight double-armed sutures evenly spaced through the ring fabric using a Spring Eye needle. The resulting loops were ‘locked’ with polypropylene sutures. In addition, two drawstring sutures were attached to the AR. Using cardiopulmonary bypass and cardioplegic arrest,12 adultsheephad 16 radiopaque markers sewnto the mitralannulus. The ARwas implanted by stitchingthe eight suturesequidistantlyina perpendiculardirectionthroughthemitralannulus.Thesheepweretransferredto thecatheterisationlaboratoryand4D marker coordinates were obtained using biplane videofluoroscopy (60 Hz) with the AR inserted (Geo-AR). The locking sutures were then released, the AR was pulled up to the atrial roof using the drawstring sutures and another dataset was acquired (control). Maximum and minimum mitral annularareas (MAAmax, MAAmin) duringthe cardiac cycle were derived from implanted markers. Data are provided from one representative animal. Results: AR insertion and release were uneventful in all animals. Whereas the mitral annulus was dynamic in the control state (MAAmax: 9.0 cm 2 , MAAmin: 7.8 cm 2 ), mitral annular dynamics were abolished in the Geo-AR case (MAAmax: 6.2 cm 2 , MAAmin: 6.0 cm 2 ). Conclusions: This novel releasable AR implantation method is feasible and permits in vivo assessment of AR effects in the same heart. The new technique should facilitate experimental AR testing and promote the development of ARs based on physical criteria. # 2009 European Association for Cardio-Thoracic Surgery. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
Political, Institutional, and Bureaucratic Fuel for the Arms Race

Revolutionary changes in Eastern Europe are fundamentally intertwined with the thawing of the Cold War between the United States and the Soviet Union. Paradoxically, the arms race between the superpowers continues. This paper examines the paradox by first considering the conventional explanations for improved relations and demonstrating their inadequacies, then turning to the structural factors that appear to help explain the changed relations, and finally examining some of the social forces that cause the arms race to continue despite the thawing of the Cold War. Structural factors cited here as having contributed to the improved relations include: changes in the global economy, the development of a civil society in the Eastern bloc, domestic and international peace initiatives, and cultural changes. Despite these changes, the arms race continues due to the stability of strategic policy and the way it is made, military-industrial institutional operations, political and economic interests, and government operations. In each of these areas, much sociological research is needed to help guide the policy-making process away from continuing the arms race.
Importance of race on breast cancer survival

Background: Breast cancer survival has been shown to be significantly less among black women than white women. The reason for this difference in survival is unclear.
Comparative Analysis of Global Positioning System–Based and Travel Survey–Based Data:

This paper examines the driver demographics, driver travel characteristics, and driver adherence to survey protocol considerations that affect the likelihood of underreporting in a household travel survey. The research considers both the likelihood of vehicle driver trip underreporting and the level of vehicle driver trip underreporting by using a joint binary choice-ordered response discrete model. The empirical analysis uses the Global Positioning System-equipped sample of households from the 2004 Kansas City (Kansas and Missouri) Household Travel Survey which also provided travel diary information. The empirical results provide important insights about underreporting tendencies in household travel surveys. In particular, adults younger than 30 years of age; men; individuals with less than a high school education; unemployed individuals; individuals working in clerical and manufacturing professions; workers employed at residential land uses; individuals who make many trips, travel long distances, and tr...
Using Mystat to Analyze a Repeated-Measures Design:

Laboratory experiments having a two-way analysis of variance design with repeated-measures on one factor are analyzed by MYSTAT. The key is in coding subjects as a factor and expressing the design as a three-way factorial with one subject per cell.
Structural specificity in demyelination induced by lysophospholipids.

Abstract The demyelinating activity of lysophosphatidylcholine (lysoPC) and various structural analogs in rat sciatic nerve was evaluated by following electrophysiologic changes within the first hour and 1 week after intraneural injection. The lysophospholipids tested included 1-O-hexadecanoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine (1-acyl-GPC), 3-O-hexadecanoyl-sn-glycero-1-phosphocholine (3-acyl-GPC), 1-O-hexadecanoylpropanediol-3-phosphocholine (acyl-PPC), 1-O-hexadecylpropanediol-3-phosphocholine (alkyl-PPC) and 1-acyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphoethanolamine (1-acyl-GPE). Changes in conduction velocity, width, amplitude and time integral percentage were measured. Within 1 hour, the highest demyelinating activity was observed for alkyl-PPC, followed by 3-acyl-GPC, 1-acyl-GPC and acyl-PPC. Hydrolysis products of lysoPC (glycerophosphocholine, fatty acid), lysophosphatidylethanolamine (1-acyl-GPE), biradyl choline phospholipids (1, 2-di-O-alkyl-rac-glycero-3-phosphocholine, dialkyl-GPC) or sodium deoxycholate proved ineffective in these short-term experiments. One week after intraneural injection, all lysophospholipids tested caused severe electrophysiologic changes, although dialkyl-GPC and sodium deoxycholate did not. Our data suggest (i) that differences in early demyelinating activity by the choline lysophospholipids are related to their rate of turnover, as highest activity was associated with the agents that are not metabolized by lysophospholipase (e.g., alkyl-PPC) or lysolecithin acyltransferase (e.g., 3-acyl-GPC), (ii) that the lysoPC molecule as such and not its products of catabolism causes demyelination, and (iii) that demyelinating activity is not due to the general detergent action of lysoPC, but rather that specific interactions appear to trigger the processes of demyelination induced by lysophospholipids.
Amino Acids Glu323, Tyr324, Glu330, and Val331 of Factor Va Heavy Chain Are Essential for Expression of Cofactor Activity

We have recently demonstrated that amino acid region 323-331 of factor Va heavy chain (9 amino acids, AP4') contains a binding site for factor Xa (Kalafatis, M., and Beck, D. O. (2002) Biochemistry 41, 12715-12728). To ascertain which amino acids within this region are important for the effector and receptor properties of the cofactor with respect to factor Xa, we have synthesized three overlapping peptides (5 amino acids each) spanning the amino acid region 323-331 and tested them for their effect on prothrombinase complex assembly and function. Peptide containing amino acids 323EYFIA327 alone was found to increase the catalytic efficiency of factor Xa but had no effect on the fluorescent anisotropy of active site-labeled factor Xa (human factor Xa labeled in the active site with Oregon Green 488; [OG488]-EGR-hXa). In contrast, peptide containing the sequence 327AAEEV331 was found to interact with [OG488]-EGR-hXa with half-maximal saturation reached at approximately 150 microm, but it was unable to produce a cofactor effect on factor Xa. Peptide 325FIAAE329 inhibited prothrombinase activity and was able to partially decrease the fluorescent anisotropy of [OG488]-EGR-hXa but could not increase the catalytic efficiency of factor Xa with respect to prothrombin. A control peptide with the sequence FFFIA did not increase the catalytic efficiency of factor Xa, whereas a peptide with the sequence AAEMI was impaired in its capability to interact with [OG488]-EGR-hXa. Two mutant recombinant factor Va molecules (Glu323 --> Phe/Tyr324 --> Phe, factor VaFF; Glu330 --> Met/Val331 --> Ile, factor VaMI) showed impaired cofactor activity when used at limiting cofactor concentration, whereas the quadruple mutant (Glu323 --> Phe/Tyr324 --> Phe and Glu330 --> Met/Val331 --> Ile, factor VaFF/MI) had no cofactor activity under similar experimental conditions. Our data demonstrate that amino acid residues Glu323, Tyr324, Glu330, and Val331 of factor Va heavy chain are critical for expression of factor Va cofactor activity.
Comparison and Mapping Facilitate Relation Discovery and Predication

Relational concepts play a central role in human perception and cognition, but little is known about how they are acquired. For example, how do we come to understand that physical force is a higher-order multiplicative relation between mass and acceleration, or that two circles are the same-shape in the same way that two squares are? A recent model of relational learning, DORA (Discovery of Relations by Analogy; Doumas, Hummel & Sandhofer, 2008), predicts that comparison and analogical mapping play a central role in the discovery and predication of novel higher-order relations. We report two experiments testing and confirming this prediction.
On the performance of a hybrid memristor/MOS π-attenuator circuit

This paper describes a new embodiment of a variable n-attenuator circuit that uses MOS transistors as the shunt elements and a TiO 2 memristor as the pass element. By taking advantage of the unique frequency response of the memristor, the architecture offers the potential of improved linearity over recent all MOS transistor design. Spice simulations using 0.13um CMOS BSIM3v3 transistor models and a SPICE model for the Hewlett Packard TiO 2 memristor show that the memristor-based π-attenuator exhibits the expected linearity improvement compared to a monolithic CMOS π-attenuator circuit.
Mortality in epilepsy Questions beyond death

Excess mortality in people with epilepsy (PWE) has long been recognized.1 Deaths in PWE may be attributed to the underlying disease, epilepsy-related causes, or unrelated causes.2 In this issue of Neurology ®, Nevalainen et al.3 report a systematic review and meta-analysis of published data on the topic. They found that the pooled mortality in PWE was threefold higher than in the general population, which was largely driven by those with symptomatic or cryptogenic epilepsies and those with persistent seizures.
G Protein-coupled Receptor Kinase and β-Arrestin-mediated Desensitization of the Angiotensin II Type 1A Receptor Elucidated by Diacylglycerol Dynamics

Receptor desensitization progressively limits responsiveness of cells to chronically applied stimuli. Desensitization in the continuous presence of agonist has been difficult to study with available assay methods. Here, we used a fluorescence resonance energy transfer-based live cell assay for the second messenger diacylglycerol to measure desensitization of a model seven-transmembrane receptor, the Gq-coupled angiotensin II type 1A receptor, expressed in human embryonic kidney 293 cells. In response to angiotensin II, we observed a transient diacylglycerol response reflecting activation and complete desensitization of the receptor within 2-5 min. By utilizing a variety of approaches including graded tetracycline-inducible receptor expression, mutated receptors, and overexpression or short interfering RNA-mediated silencing of putative components of the cellular desensitization machinery, we conclude that the rate and extent of receptor desensitization are critically determined by the following: receptor concentration in the plasma membrane; the presence of phosphorylation sites on the carboxyl terminus of the receptor; kinase activity of G protein-coupled receptor kinase 2, but not of G protein-coupled receptor kinases 3, 5, or 6; and stoichiometric expression of β-arrestin. The findings introduce the use of the biosensor diacylglycerol reporter as a powerful means for studying Gq-coupled receptor desensitization and document that, at the levels of receptor overexpression commonly used in such studies, the properties of the desensitization process are markedly perturbed and do not reflect normal cellular physiology.
Expression of protein kinase C isoforms in renal tissue

PKC plays a central role for the regulation of renal function. PKC consists of a family of isoenzymes. By employing Northern blot techniques we have demonstrated that mRNA transcripts for the classical Ca(2+)-dependent, diacylglycerol-activated isoform alpha, the novel, Ca(2+)-independent isoform delta and the atypical isoform zeta are abundantly expressed in the rat kidney. The novel PKC-epsilon was weakly expressed. The classical PKCs beta I, beta II and gamma could not be detected. The mRNA expression of PKC-delta and -zeta increased with age. The intrarenal localization of PKC-alpha, -delta and -zeta isoforms were studied in the adult kidney using in situ hybridization. In the cortex, the PKC-alpha isoform showed the strongest hybridization signal. PKC alpha, delta and zeta were all distributed in the outer medulla. The PKC-alpha probe detected particularly strong signal in the outer stripe of the outer medulla. Western blot confirmed the presence of the PKC-alpha, -delta and -zeta enzymes in renal tissue. The results show cell-specific and developmentally-dependent expression of three types of PKC isoforms with different responses to diacylglycerol and calcium. The developmental increase of both PKC-delta and PKC-zeta suggests a specific role for these isoforms for the functional regulation of the mature kidney.
Transmitter-mediated inhibition of N-type calcium channels in sensory neurons involves multiple GTP-binding proteins and subunits

Abstract The modulation of voltage-activated Cat+ channels by neurotransmitters and peptides is very likely a primary means of regulating Ca 2+ -dependent physiological functions such as neurosecretion, muscle contraction, and membrane excitability. In neurons, N-type Ca 2+ channels (defined as ω-conotoxin GVIA-sensitive) are one prominent target for transmitter-mediated inhibition. This inhibition is widely thought to result from a shift in the voltage dependence of channel gating. Recently, however, voltage-independent inhibition has also been described for N channels. As embryonic chick dorsal root ganglion neurons express both of these biophysically distinct modulatory pathways, we have utilized these cells to test the hypothesis that the voltage-dependent and -independent actions of transmitters are mediated by separate biochemical pathways. We have confirmed this hypothesis by demonstrating that the two modulatory mechanisms activated by a single transmitter involve not only different classes of G protein but also different G protein subunits.
The role of cell interaction in the control of enzyme activity during embryogenesis

Abstract The alkaline phosphatase activity of extracts of Arbacia punctulata embryos undergoes a marked increase after the early pluteus stage. Reaggregating cells dissociated from embryos shortly before the early pluteus stage underwent the same increase in enzymatic activity at the same time as the controls. On the other hand, if the cells had been dissociated at a much younger stage, they failed to undergo the above increase at the time of the controls.
Dynamic expression of proteoglycans during chicken skeletal muscle development and maturation

Abstract Skeletal muscle development is a complex process in which cell migration and adhesion play important roles. Because these cellular activities involve cell surface and extracellular matrix molecules, proteoglycan analysis was performed for developing chick skeletal muscle. Proteoglycans are macromolecular conjugates of protein and carbohydrate found in the extracellular matrix and at the cell surface. In developing muscle, both in vivo and in vitro, there is a development-related progression from synthesis of primarily large proteoglycans at earlier stages to mainly small proteoglycans at later stages. This progression was demonstrated by radiolabeling developing muscle and extracting and characterizing the proteoglycans. The large proteoglycans synthesized earlier in myogenesis have been identified as the large chondroitin sulfate proteoglycan, versican. Among the small proteoglycans synthesized at later stages is the small dermatan sulfate proteoglycan, decorin. Immunolocalization of these proteoglycans shows that versican is initially present in pericellular locations around developing myotubes, whereas decorin is observed in the epimysium early in development, and then its distribution gradually spreads to also include the perimysium and endomysium. Studies of regenerating muscle show that there is a recapitulation of the embryonic pattern of proteoglycan synthesis, which, coupled with the results from embryonic muscle development, suggests a role for versican in some early aspect of myogenesis.
The Heller Decision and Its Possible Implications for Right-to-Carry Laws Nationally

The decision by the United States Supreme Court in District of Columbia v. Heller, 554 U.S. 2008, together with the research of Professor and research scientist John Lott now opens a number of new discussions concerning handguns in the United States. Whereas Professor Lott maintains that allowing citizens to carry concealed handguns lowers crime rates. The Supreme Court has now established for the first time ever, that citizens may possess handguns and firearms for private use in their homes. Taken together, more questions have been created than answered.
Errors in a risk assessment of renewable resources

Abstract A discussion is given of some of the serious biases and mistakes presented in an article in this journal entitled “Risk in hydroelectricity production” by H. Inhaber.
CENTRAL AND TENSOR POTENTIALS IN NUCLEAR SHELL MODEL CALCULATIONS

Abstract We present here the results of an attempt to determine an effective interaction for nuclear shell-model problems. A residual interaction with gaussian shape and both central and tensor parts was assumed. The ranges of these parts were fixed, but the strengths of the various spin-parity components were varied to obtain a good fit to a number of nuclear levels. The levels chosen for this fit were those in nuclei which consist of two particles or holes relative to the following closed shell cores: 16O, 40Ca, 88Sr, 208Pb. The attempt failed, in that no reasonable set of potential parameters could be found which worked reasonably well for all cases. The greatest success was obtained for those nuclei which have 208Pb as the core, although one of the worst cases of disagreement was 206Tl.
Case Article---Take Me Out Of The Ball Game

This paper describes a teaching case in which students model crowd management using process analysis. The case study consists of a classroom exercise that provides a practical illustration of the steps required to analyze a process, the need for abstraction in modeling a process, and an understanding of the relationship between process metrics and their managerial implications. The students are expected to behave as city planning consultants, addressing the long lines fans regularly face when getting home at the end of a Chicago Cubs™ baseball game. The case requires them to use knowledge from operations, economics, and process analysis classes to model, analyze and provide concrete solutions to alleviate crowding. Case Teaching Note: Interested Instructors please see the Instructor Materials page for access to the restricted materials. To maintain the integrity and usefulness of cases published in ITE, unapproved distribution of the case teaching notes and other restricted materials to any other party is prohibited.
Frailty models with missing covariates.

Nous proposons une methode pour estimer un modele a effets aleatoires pour des donnees de survie quand les covariables sont susceptibles de manquer. Notre methode est plus generale que les modeles de fragilites habituels, car il s'accomode d'une grande variete de distributions des effets aleatoires qui sont inclus comme compensateurs dans le predicteur lineaire de maniere analogue a ce que l'on fait quand on utilise un modele lineaire generalise. Nous proposons d'utiliser l'algorithme EM de Monte Carlo associe a l'echantillonneur de Gibbs pour obtenir l'estimation des parametres. Cette methode est utile pour reduire des biais qui ne pourraient etre corriges en utilisant des methodes pour donnees completes. Cette approche a ete appliquee a des donnees provenant d'essais cliniques de Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group melanoma dans lesquels les observations etait supposees etre en grappe et plusieurs caracteristiques de la tumeur n'etaient pas observees.
Spatial and temporal patterns in channel change on the Snake River downstream from Jackson Lake dam, Wyoming

Abstract Operations of Jackson Lake dam (JLD) have altered the hydrology and sediment transport capacity of the Snake River in Grand Teton National Park. Prior research has provided conflicting assessments of whether the downstream river was perturbed into sediment surplus or sediment deficit. In this paper, we present the results of an aerial photo analysis designed to evaluate whether the history of channel change indicates either significant deficit or surplus of sediment that could be expressed as narrowing or expansion of the channel over time. We analyze changes in braid index, channel width, channel activity, and net channel change of the Snake River based on four series of aerial photographs. Between 1945 and 1969, a period of relatively small main-stem floods, widespread deposition, and up to 31% reduction in channel width occurred throughout the Snake River. Between 1969 and 2002, a period of large main-stem floods, the style of channel change reversed with a decrease in braid index and an increase in channel width of up to 31%. These substantial changes in the channel downstream from the dam primarily occurred in multithread reaches, regardless of proximity to tributaries, and no temporal progression of channel narrowing or widening was observed. We demonstrate that channel change downstream from JLD is more temporally and longitudinally complex than previously described.
An Approach To Real Time Holography

Various diagnostic procedures in medicine, industry and defense produce 3-Dimensional data bases adequate to calculate a hologram. In most cases the nearer to real time the hologram can be produced the more beneficial. Since a hologram is a superposition of Fresnel zone plate patterns from each point source in the object volume on to the image plane a cellular array processor is suggested which will produce a factor of a million reduction in the time to calculate a hologram.© (1983) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.
Inhalation of methyl bromide gas induces mitotic recombination in somatic cells of Drosophila melanogaster

The fumigant methyl bromide was evaluated for genotoxicity in the somatic wing-spot assay of Drosophila melanogaster. Third instar larvae trans-dihybrid for mwh and flr3 were exposed to varying concentrations (0-16 mg/l) of the gas for 1 h. Following this exposure via inhalation, the larvae were placed into vials containing Instant Medium. 7 days after the exposure, the adult flies in the vials were collected, and their wings were scored under 400X magnification for the presence of clones of cells possessing malformed wing-hairs. Such clones appeared as mwh-flr3 twin spots and single spots of either mwh or flr3 phenotype. Exposure to methyl bromide was found to result in the positive induction of both twin spots and large (greater than 2 cells) single spots. For each endpoint, a significant exponential association was obtained between concentration and frequency of spots per wing. Methyl bromide was found to be a negative inducer of small (1-2 cells) single spots at all concentrations except 16 mg/l where a positive effect was observed. Because twin spots arise exclusively from mitotic recombination, methyl bromide was identified as having recombinogenic activity in the somatic tissue of Drosophila larvae.
What is the role of the school nurse in sexual health education

Sexual health information must be readily available to teens and delivered using both formal and informal means. By forming partnerships and sharing resources with health education teachers, social workers, guidance counselors, administrators, students, families, and the community, school nurses can improve access to information and resources to mitigate the negative consequences of early, unprotected, or forced sexual intercourse. Open communication with teens will allow them to obtain the information they need to make responsible decisions and access care when needed. For information on YRBS data for individual states, visit the CDC Youth Online website at http://apps.nccd.cdc.gov/ youthonline/App/Default.aspx. YRBS data are collected on six categories: unintentional injuries and violence, tobacco use, alcohol and other drug use, sexual behaviors, dietary behaviors, and physical inactivity. The site includes data from 1991 to 2009 and allows tables and graphs related to various health topics to be created.
The dependence of the anisotropic knight shift on crystal symmetry

Abstract The magnetic field at a nucleus in a metal due to the electron-nuclear spin dipole interaction produces the anisotropic Knight shift. We show here that, in the absence of spin-orbit and electron spin-spin dipole coupling terms, the shift is zero in cubic materials as a general group-theoretical consequence of symmetry, and that we need make no specific assumptions about the electron wave functions such as they are p-like or d-like etc. as in previous discussions. Neglecting the same terms, we derive the formulae for the angular dependence of the shift on the orientation of the magnetic field relative to crystallographic axes for single crystals of the six non-cubic systems. These results are obtained with an independent-particle model for the conduction electrons, but we will find that they are unaffected if we take the Coulomb interactions fully into account. Finally, we give an expression for the anisotropic Knight shift with spin-orbit coupling included in a certain approximation. Diamagnetic effects are neglected throughout.
Non-Cleanroom Fabrication of Carbon Nanotube-Based MEMS Force and Displacement Sensors

Traditional microelectromechanical MEMS fabrications such photolithography and deep reactive ion etching (DRIE) are expensive and time consuming. This limits the types and designs of MEMS devices that can be produced cost effectively since in order to overcome the high startup costs and times associated with traditional MEMS fabrication techniques tens of thousands of each type of MEMS device must be produced and sold. In this paper, we will present a method for placing carbon nanotube (CNT) based piezoresistive sensors onto metallic flexural elements that are created via micromachining. This method reduces the fabrication time from over 3 months to less than 3 days. In addition, the fabrication cost is reduced form over $500 per device to less than $20 per device. This flexible, low cost fabrication method enables rapid prototyping of MEMS devices which is an important step in the design and development process for electromechanical systems. Also, the development of this type of low cost fabrication method will help to make low volume manufacturing of MEMS devices feasible from a cost prospective. In this fabrication method, a micromill is used to fabricate the flexure beams. Electron beam evaporation is then used to deposit (1) an insulating ceramic thin film layer and (2) metal traces on the flexure. A shadow mask is used to define the wire patterns. Either a tungsten wire or a focused ion beam (FIB) is used to define a 1–5 μm gap in the wire traces. Dielectrophoresis is then used to orient/position the CNT sensors across the gap. Finally, the structure is coated with a thin ceramic layer to protect the sensor and mitigate noise. When the flexure element is deflected, the CNTs strain which results in a measurable change in resistance. Several meso-scale test devices were produced using this fabrication method. The devices that were fabricated using a FIB to create the gap in the wire traces have the same strain sensitivity as devices fabricated using traditional cleanroom based techniques. However, the devices that were fabricated using the tungsten wire have a strain sensitivity that is almost 7 times lower than the devices fabricated using traditional cleanroom based fabrication techniques. This is because the gap size for the tungsten wire fabrication method is about an order of magnitude larger than for the FIB cut or lithography based gap fabrication methods. Therefore, the CNT are not able to stretch across the entire gap. This creates CNT-CNT junctions in the electrical pathway of the sensors which significantly increases the sensor resistance and decreases the strain sensitivity of the sensor. Overall, these results show that functional CNT-based piezoresistive MEMS sensors may be fabricated without conventional integrated circuit (IC) microfabrication technologies but that tight control over the gap size is needed in order to ensure that the sensor performance is not degraded.Copyright © 2011 by ASME
Control of Systemic Spread of Candida albicans with Ketoconazole in the Stomachs of Mice Treated with Cytarabine

Attempts were made to colonize the gastrointestinal tract of outbred CD-1 mice with Candida albicans or Candida tropicalis before assessing the effects of cytarabine and ketoconazole on colonization. Stable populations of C. albicans but not C. tropicalis could be maintained in the stomachs of mice infected as adults if they were maintained on penicillin and tetracycline, or in untreated mice if the fungus was administered while they were infants. Treatment with cytarabine of mice colonized with C. albicans resulted in increased levels of yeast in the stomach, and small numbers of yeasts were recovered from the livers, kidneys, and spleens. Ketoconazole limited the multiplication of the yeast in the stomachs of colonized mice, although the effect was somewhat variable. Systemic spread of the fungus was essentially eliminated in animals receiving both ketoconazole and cytarabine, suggesting that ketoconazole may be an appropriate prophylactic agent for individuals undergoing therapy with cytarabine. The increased use of immunosuppressed therapy in patients with cancer and organ transplants in the past several years has led to an increase in the number of serious fungal infections in connection with such therapy [1, 2]. In particular, infections with Candida are seen regularly in immunosuppressed patients and are frequently life threatening
Ionic poly(p‐phenylene terephthalamide)s: Solubility and thermal stability

Ionic sulfonate groups were incorporated onto molecules of the rigid-rod polymer poly(p-phenylene terephthalamide) (PPTA) in two different positions. In one type, S-PPTA, ionic sulfonate groups were attached to the phenylene ring of the backbone chain. S-PPTA solubility was achieved in dimethylsulfoxide (DMSO) when 50% of the repeat units contained an ionic group. In the second type, PPTA-PS, where ionic propanesulfonate groups served as side chains, solubility was achieved in DMSO when 30% of the repeat units contained the ionic group. For both of the partially sulfonated ionic polymers, the thermal stability was enhanced in comparison with the stability of the acid-form polymers, but it was less than that of PPTA. The effect was more dramatic when the ionic groups were located at the end of side chains. The nature of the counterion also played a role, with doubly ionized calcium giving the best results. Polarized light micrographs of the ionic PPTA polymers displaced birefringent patterns and indicated that greater rigidity was present when the ionic groups were directly attached to the backbone, rather than at the end of a short side chain.
Estimating the effective energy transfer velocity at air‐sea interface

[1] An analytical expression of the effective energy transfer velocity relating surface wind stress and energy dissipation is derived from the parameterization functions of wave energy dissipation and ocean surface friction coefficient. The equation is applied to analyses from two field experiments at very different stages of wave development. Discussions on relevant issues such as the effect of wind field steadiness, scaling, and spectral resolution are presented. A key result from this investigation is that the effective energy transfer velocity is confined in a narrow range, with the majority of data points within 1.5 and 3 m/s, over a wide range of wind speed (5–16 m/s) and dimensionless frequency (0.8–4.2) of the wavefield. A sharp increase in the energy transfer coefficient and effective energy transfer velocity occurs at a wind speed near 6 or 7 m/s. Data points that deviated significantly from the parameterization prediction appear to be associated with wind field unsteadiness, which is not accounted for in the formulation of parameterization function. The breaking process is local in space or time as well as in wave number or frequency. Global (mean) quantities such as dominant wave speed and wind friction velocity are not the proper scaling factor for the breaking velocity or energy transfer coefficient. The scaling factor should reflect the local characteristics (steepness, acceleration, or orbital velocity) of the wavefield that lead to waveform instability.
The gender and race-ethnicity of faculty in top social science research departments

Abstract This paper provides a recent profile of the gender and race-ethnicity of faculty in top research departments of economics, political science, and sociology. Most faculty are male, although there appear to be critical masses of women in political science and sociology. Blacks and Hispanics are underrepresented among faculty relative to their shares of the population. Within each racial-ethnic group examined, there are more male than female faculty members, with a smaller gender gap for Blacks than for other racial-ethnic groups. In general, the higher the rank, the greater the proportion of males than females, especially for Whites and Asians.
The moving boundary node method: A level set-based, finite volume algorithm with applications to cell motility

Eukaryotic cell crawling is a highly complex biophysical and biochemical process, where deformation and motion of a cell are driven by internal, biochemical regulation of a poroelastic cytoskeleton. One challenge to built quantitative models that describe crawling cells is solving the reaction-diffusion-advection dynamics for the biochemical and cytoskeletal components of the cell inside its moving and deforming geometry. Here we develop an algorithm that uses the level set method to move the cell boundary and uses information stored in the distance map to construct a finite volume representation of the cell. Our method preserves Cartesian connectivity of nodes in the finite volume representation while resolving the distorted cell geometry. Derivatives approximated using a Taylor series expansion at finite volume interfaces lead to second order accuracy even on highly distorted quadrilateral elements. A modified, Laplacian-based interpolation scheme is developed that conserves mass while interpolating values onto nodes that join the cell interior as the boundary moves. An implicit time stepping algorithm is used to maintain stability. We use the algorithm to simulate two simple models for cellular crawling. The first model uses depolymerization of the cytoskeleton to drive cell motility and suggests that the shape of a steady crawling cell is strongly dependent on the adhesion between the cell and the substrate. In the second model, we use a model for chemical signalling during chemotaxis to determine the shape of a crawling cell in a constant gradient and to show cellular response upon gradient reversal.
Applied ultraviolet spectrophotometry of fats and oils

The chemist has in the spectrophotometric method a rapid and simple means of studying changes in the double bond systems of fatty acids. The method is highly sensitive. It has found application in studies of processing of oils, improvement of drying oils, catalytic hydrogenation, routine analytical work, soap and tallow control, as well as in nutrition studies in which the composition of depot and ingested fats are of interest. It also finds application in strictly academic studies which have as their purpose an extension of our knowledge concerning the composition of naturally occurring fats and oils. In general, it is especially valuable in cases in which thiocyanometric procedures are not sufficiently sensitive or in which conjugated as well as non-conjugated constituents occur.
Skew quadrupole focusing lattices and applications

In this paper we revisit using skew quadrupole fields in place of traditional normal upright quadrupole fields to make beam focusing structures. We illustrate by example skew lattice decoupling, dispersion suppression and chromatic correction using the neutrino factory Study-II muon storage ring design. Ongoing BNL investigation of flat coil magnet structures that allow building a very compact muon storage ring arc and other flat coil configurations that might bring significant magnet cost reduction to a VLHC motivate our study of skew focusing.
Tuberculous Pericarditis: Optimal Diagnosis and Management

Pericarditis is a rare manifestation of tuberculous disease. The appropriate diagnostic workup and optimal therapeutic management are not well defined. We present 10 new cases of tuberculous pericarditis and review the relevant literature. The specific topics addressed are (1) the importance of tissue for diagnosis, (2) the optimal surgical management, (3) the role of corticosteroids, and (4) the impact of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) on the management of this disease. The cases and the literature suggest that the optimal management includes an open pericardial window with biopsy, both for diagnosis and to prevent reaccumulation of fluid. Corticosteroids probably offer some benefit in preventing fluid reaccumulation as well. The data are inconclusive regarding whether open drainage or corticosteroid use prevents progression to constrictive pericarditis. No studies have addressed these issues specifically in HIV-positive patients, but the 3 HIV-positive patients in our series had an excellent response to drainage and antituberculous therapy.
Hepatocellular carcinoma: an unusual course with hyperthyroidism and inappropriate thyroid-stimulating hormone production.

A 61-yr-old woman was found to have multicentric hepatocellular carcinoma associated with clinical hyperthyroidism. Marked elevations in serum thyroid-stimulating hormone, T 4 , T 3 , and free T 4 were documented. These values increased with tumor progression. It is postulated that this patient's hepatoma produced a substance stimulating thyroidstimulating hormone synthesis and secretion with resultant inappropriate thyroid-stimulating hormone production and thyrotoxicosis. This unusual association of hepatocellular carcinoma with clinical and biochemical evidence of hyperthyroidism and inappropriate thyroid-stimulating hormone production has not been previously reported.
Oral Poetry in the Seafarer

Two articles by F. P. Magoun, Jr. have confirmed and given shape to some long current ideas about the formulaic nature of Old English poetry.' Drawing on the researches of Parry and Lord, which were based primarily on empirical study of a living tradition of oral poetry, Magoun has very usefully applied their principles to the Old English alliterative poetry. These principles, of course, apply best to the unlettered Germanic tradition of poetry which came down from prehistoric times, but since all the Old English poems we now know were probably composed anywhere from one to five centuries after a lettered, Christian tradition had been introduced into England, some of Magoun's statements perhaps need modification. Characteristic of the Germanic oral poetry were not only a specialized exalted diction but also a stock of conventional formulaic phrases which conformed to the intricate rhythmic requirements of the verse and linked easily with other formulas to fulfill the alliterative demands. Once a scop has learned his trade, he could undoubtedly call up hundreds, and perhaps thousands, of these conventional formulas from memory in order to shape the particular story he was telling. The exigencies of oral performance made such a system virtually necessary, yet it allowed for extensive variation and provided considerable latitude for originality and shaping control on the part of an excellent poet. The history of the Old English poetic conventions after the introduction of the tradition of written literature must have been very complex, however, for lettered men at some period began writing and singing in the native form, introducing ideas and narrative material from Latin literature without at first weakening the formal characteristics of the verse. Some of the pagan formulaic phrases underwent a shift in meaning and reference when they were used by Christian authors, starting very soon after the conversion. As Magoun brilliantly shows,2 Caedmon's Hymn, far from being the first Christian poem, was written in a well-established tradition of diction in which many Christian adaptations of pagan formulas had already taken place. These modifications and adaptations, begun by authors of the seventh century, were undoubtedly developed continuously throughout the Old English period. Nearly fifty years ago J. W. Rankin convincingly demonstrated that many of the commonest formulaic phrases were virtually translated from Latin poets and prose writers.3 The implications of Rankin's study are that many early Christian poets, rather than being simple, devout, and unlettered like Caedmon, or even professional pagan scops who continued to exercise their gift
Java framework for distributed real-time embedded systems

This paper presents the evaluation of a multithread distributed real-time object-oriented platform. A communication API was developed to increase functionalities of an API that implements the real-time specification for Java standard, extending it to cover embedded distributed applications. Real-time restrictions of the communication are ensured by a time-out mechanism. The API can be adapted to be used with different underlying network and physical mediums. The development focused on restrictive embedded platforms with low performance and small memory. An evaluation in terms of the fulfillment of timing constraints, and memory footprint is presented for a CAN-bus network. The results also demonstrate the timely correctness provided by the communication API running over an RTSJ implementation.
A Recurrent Model of Orientation Maps with Simple and Complex Cells

We describe a neuromorphic chip that utilizes transistor heterogeneity, introduced by the fabrication process, to generate orientation maps similar to those imaged in vivo. Our model consists of a recurrent network of excitatory and inhibitory cells in parallel with a push-pull stage. Similar to a previous model the recurrent network displays hotspots of activity that give rise to visual feature maps. Unlike previous work, however, the map for orientation does not depend on the sign of contrast. Instead, sign-independent cells driven by both ON and OFF channels anchor the map, while push-pull interactions give rise to sign-preserving cells. These two groups of orientation-selective cells are similar to complex and simple cells observed in V1.
First-principle interatomic potentials for the carbon monoxide—platinum reaction

Abstract A general method for generating atom3ātom potentials, which reproduce ab initio potential curves for some geometrical rearrangements, is presented. Pairwise potentials are derived from reliable large scale complete active space multi-configuration self-consistent field (CASSCF) calculations. The reaction of carbon monoxide with a plantinum atom has been selected as a test case. The interaction energies calculated from these atom—atom potentials are compared with our ab initio CASSCF calculations including many-body effects.
An alternative teaching method of conditional probabilities and Bayes' rule: an application of the truth table

Summary This paper presents a comparison of three approaches to the teaching of probability to demonstrate how the truth table of elementary mathematical logic can be used to teach the calculations of conditional probabilities. Students are typically introduced to the topic of conditional probabilities—especially the ones that involve Bayes' rule—with the help of such traditional approaches as formula use or conversion to natural frequencies. The truth table approach is an alternative method for explaining the concept and calculation procedure of conditional probability and Bayes' rule.
Policy segmentation for intelligent firewall testing

Firewall development and implementation are constantly being improved to accommodate higher security and performance standards. Using reliable yet practical techniques for testing new packet filtering algorithms and firewall design implementations from a functionality point of view becomes necessary to assure the required security. In this paper, an efficient paradigm for automated testing of firewalls with respect to their internal implementation and security policies is proposed. We propose a novel firewall testing technique using policy-based segmentation of the traffic address space, which can intelligently adapt the test traffic generation to target potential erroneous regions in the firewall input space. We also show that our automated approach of test case generation, analyzing firewall logs and creating testing reports not only makes the problem solvable but also offers a significantly higher degree of confidence than random testing.