cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Koizumi's Trip to the Five ASEAN Countries and His "Koizumi Conception

At a time when new changes have taken place in the economic environment of Japan and ASEAN countries, who are now faced with new problems, and Japan's foreign trade policies and corporation strategies have taken on significant changes, Koizumi, on his trip to the five ASEAN countries, put forward Japan's new ideology concerning its relationships with ASEAN countries and his "Koizumi Conception." The conception, though generally welcome to the ASEAN countries, also met with discordant sounds. As a result of the conception's hollowness and ambiguity, and of the interference from the liberalization of Japan's domestic agriculture, it remains a major issue as to how "Koizumi Conception" can be realized.
Application of Mixed Communications Based on EPON and PLC in Distribution Automation System

In the existed distribution network,the distribution automation terminal is applied in every corner of the city.But the optical cable does not cover each terminal along with the 10 kV line.So there are many stations that the optical cable cannot reach in the future distribution automation construction process.For this reason,it is very difficult to cover the whole distribution network with optical cable in the completed power supply areas.Whereas,as a complementary,the power line carrier communication can compensate for this drawback.First this paper introduces EPON,the mechanism of PLC technology and their application in the construction of distribution automation communication system,presents the comprehensive communication solution which integrates the EPON and PLC technology.The solution combines the characteristics of two types of communication technologies,provides the efficient,reliable and full coverage communication solution for distribution automation system.
Serous Otitis Media

Serous otitis media is a capricious entity that can cause conductive deafness. The condition is most common in children, who often cannot describe the attending symptoms of deafness, fullness, and pressure. The basic contributing factor is inadequate function of the eustachian tube. Function improves as the child approaches 12 years of age. Underlying factors such as infections, adenoidal hypertrophy, and allergic states also must be managed. The otitis media may be treated medically or surgically.
Echocardiographic correlates of Freestyle stentless tissue aortic valve endocarditis.

Echocardiography plays a critical role in assessing prosthetic valve endocarditis. Because normal paravalvular findings can mimic paraprosthetic infection early after implantation of a stentless bioprosthesis, we sought to define echocardiographic characteristics associated with infective endocarditis (IE) complicating stentless tissue aortic valve replacement. Between September 1992 and October 2000, 388 patients underwent aortic valve replacement with a Freestyle stentless tissue aortic valve. Nine patients presented with clinical endocarditis 10 days to 107 weeks after surgery. Patients included 8 men and 1 woman, ages 38 to 72 years. Of these, 7 patients underwent valve explantation, 1 patient was treated medically, and 1 died within hours of presentation. Intraoperative post-pump transesophageal echocardiography (TEE) and subsequent TEE examinations were reviewed for pertinent findings. For comparison, 22 patients without IE who underwent follow-up TEE within 1 year after Freestyle aortic valve replacement served as a control group. Abnormal TEE findings in patients with IE included new or worsening paravalvular aortic regurgitation (AR) in 4, diffuse leaflet thickening in 4, valvular vegetations in 1, and aorto-atrial fistula in 1. A progressive increase in the paravalvular echo-dense and/or echo-lucent space occurred in 5 of 9 patients. Among control subjects, paravalvular findings observed on immediate post-pump TEE resolved over time, and did not increase in size in any patient. In addition, no control patient developed new or progressive AR, diffuse leaflet thickening, or vegetations. TEE is useful in detecting valvular and paravalvular involvement of IE complicating stentless tissue aortic valve replacement. Because incremental change in paravalvular appearance from post-pump TEE is an important finding, intraoperative post-pump TEE should be performed and recorded in all patients undergoing stentless tissue aortic valve replacement.
Efficient spam detection across Online Social Networks

Online Social Networks (OSNs) have become more and more popular in the whole world. People share their personal activities, views and opinions among different OSNs. At the same time, social spam appears more frequently and in various formats throughout popular OSNs. Therefore, efficient detection of spam has become an important and popular problem. This paper focuses on spam detection across multiple online social networks by leveraging the knowledge of detecting similar spam within a social network and using it in different networks. We chose Facebook and Twitter for our study targets, considering that they share the most similar features in posts, topics, and user activities, etc. We collected two datasets from them and performed analysis based on our proposed methodology. The results show that detection combined with spam in Facebook show a more than 50% decrease of spam tweets in Twitter, and detection combined with spam of Twitter shows a nearly 71.2% decrease of spam posts in Facebook. This means similar spam of one social network can greatly facilitate spam detection in other social networks. We proposed a new perspective of spam detection in OSNs.
Rapid prototyping and freeform fabrication

In the course of industrial product development, a point comes when the product concept must move from engineering drawing to physical reality. The activity surrounding this point of first substantiation of a product concept can be labeled prototyping. Prototyping is important because it is the ultimate means for verifying product concepts. Because it is the first substantiation of a product, prototyping can be very expensive and time-consuming. This is the basis for seeking methods of rapid prototyping. Rapid prototyping (RP) offers the lure of faster, cheaper product development which can ultimately impact customer satisfaction and future profits.
The American Frontier as State of Nature

John Locke claims that “in the beginning, all the world was America.” If this were, in fact, the case, then the early American frontier ought to resemble the state of nature that Locke describes. L...
Survey of Economic Research Now Being Conducted in Experiment Stations

In the year 1924-25 the various state agricultural experiment stations were receiving from all sources a total of approximately $10,000,000. Of this amount each state was receiving $30,000 from the federal government, one-half under the provisions of the Hatch Act of 1887 and one-half under the provisions of the Adams Act of 1906. The balance of the income was from the respective states. This made about 15 per cent of the total income in 1924 from the federal government. In response to a feeling that additional appropriations should be made available for the expansion of the work of the stations into the newer fields of research the Purnell Act was passed by Congress in 1925 and went into effect July 1, of this year. As stated by the act, its purpose was for "the more complete endowment of Agricultural Experiment Stations," for "paying the necessary expenses of conducting investigations or making experiments bearing directly on the production, manufacture, preparation, in distribution and marketing of agricultural products, and including such scientific researches as have for their purpose the establishment and maintenance of a permanent and efficient agricultural industry, and such economic and sociological investigations as have for their purpose the development and improvement of the rural home and rural life and for printing and disseminating the results of said researches." The act appropriates $20,000 for each station for the present fiscal year with annual increases of $10,000 until a total of $60,000 per year is reached. This means an increase of 30 per cent over the present total appropriations to experiment stations. It thus provides the means of enlarging the activities of the stations in the newer fields of agricultural economics, rural sociology, and home
The Right to Punishment for International Crimes

On October 1, 2002, Magnus Gafgen was taken into custody by the Frankfurt police in connection with the kidnapping of a young boy held for ransom. The police threatened Gafgen with various forms of torture unless he divulged the location of the boy. Gafgen quickly relented and led the police to the boy, who was already dead. Gafgen was convicted of murder and the police were convicted of coercion. However, the district court concluded that the police, though culpable, were not appropriate subjects of punishment. Gafgen, unhappy that his torturers were not punished, filed a case against Germany at the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR), arguing that Germany's failure to punish his torturers violated his human rights. The ECHR concluded that Gafgen was right--the German government was obligated to punish perpetrators of torture, and by failing to do so adequately, Germany violated Gafgen's human rights. The goal of this chapter is to show that the argument in Gafgen is generalizable to other contexts. Although the case arose from a particular procedural posture, there is little reason to suspect that the arguments in Gafgen will not hold for other crimes as well. At the very least, these arguments can be extended, without logical disruption, to other international crimes that states are under a legal obligation to criminalize, such as war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide. Moreover, if the structure of these arguments is conceptually sound, in theory they should apply outside of the European context, unless the argument is based on a particular right that is only protected by the European Convention and not by international law. This subtle change in emphasis -- moving from punishment as a license to punishment as a legal requirement -- has profound consequences for the operation of international criminal justice. States and international tribunals are required to punish perpetrators as a matter of human rights law, and their failure to follow through on this obligation violates not just some vague or inchoate ergo omnes obligation, it also violates an obligation owed directly to the victims of that particular atrocity. This applies not just when the perpetrators are not punished at all but also when the perpetrators, like in Gafgen's case, are not punished severely enough.
Obtaining a follow-up appointment before discharge protects against readmission for patients with acute coronary syndrome and heart failure: A quality improvement project.

Abstract Background Cardiac patients have a high risk of readmission following hospital discharge. The aim of our project was to examine the factors associated with increased readmission rate, with a view to eventually decrease the rate of readmission for patients admitted to the hospital due to acute coronary syndrome (ACS) or heart failure. Methods Patients admitted to the cardiac step-down unit at a single private hospital from 2015 to 2016 were included in our study. Interventions that were employed included: (1) improved pre-discharge follow-up appointment scheduling, (2) medication education by a pharmacist, and (3) timely discharge planning. Our primary outcome of interest was all-cause rate of hospital readmission within 30days. We conducted a multivariate analysis to determine the factors that were predictive of readmission rate. Results 578 patients were included in the study and 402 were diagnosed with ACS (69.9%). The rate of readmission was 14.2% for patients with heart failure, compared to 7.5% for patients with ACS. Following the bundle of interventions, patients were significantly more likely to receive an appointment (45.6% vs. 75.4%, p p =0.006), and a timely discharge (47.1% vs. 76.0%, p p =0.004). Conclusions While our package of interventions did not lead to a significant decline in our readmission rate, patients who received a follow-up appointment prior to discharge were strongly protected against readmission.
Effects of the Iceland plume on Greenland's lithosphere: New insights from ambient noise tomography

Abstract Ambient noise tomography is used to image Greenland's lithosphere, which passed over the Iceland plume between ∼70 and ∼40 Ma. Cross-correlations from 21 stations from GLISN seismic network were used to invert for 2-D Rayleigh wave phase velocity maps for 14 periods between 8 and 40 s. We find that Rayleigh wave phase velocities substantially vary across Greenland, with slow velocities coinciding with NW-SE trending Iceland plume track. In east Greenland the detected velocity reduction at longer periods (33–40s) reflects substantially thinned lithosphere, thermally ablated by the plume. From the east, the reduced velocities shift NW at shorter periods (12–20s), indicating shallowing of the plume-related slow anomaly. In north-central Greenland, the reduced velocities appear in the proximity of the plume ∼60 Ma, reflecting lithospheric weakening in the presence of residual heat that still persists within the lithosphere. Our results provide important new constraints on variations in the seismic velocity structure of Greenland's crust and uppermost mantle, revealing prolonged effects of the mantle plume on the overpassing craton.
Trends in the Prevalence of Diabetes Among U.S. Adults: 1999-2016.

Introduction The prevalence of diabetes has increased substantially over the past three decades. This study sought to estimate recent trends in the prevalence of diabetes among U.S. adults. Methods This paper estimated trends in the prevalence of diagnosed, undiagnosed, and total diabetes among U.S. adults from 1999–2000 to 2015–2016 (analyzed in 2017). Data come from 42,554 respondents aged ≥20 years who participated in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. Diagnosed diabetes was measured through self-report, undiagnosed diabetes was measured as never being diagnosed with diabetes but having glycated hemoglobin levels ≥6.5%, and total diabetes was measured as the sum of individuals with diagnosed and undiagnosed diabetes. Results In the overall U.S. adult population, the unadjusted prevalence of total diabetes increased from 7.7% in 1999–2000 to 13.3% in 2015–2016 (p Conclusions From 1999 to 2016, the prevalence of diabetes among U.S. adults increased at a substantial rate. This growth occurred differentially across subgroups, particularly impacting Mexican-American adults, and was driven in large part by population aging and increasing obesity rates.
Weight Enumerators of Some Classes of Deletion Correcting Codes

We derive an explicit expression for the weight enumerator of a general class of codes which includes several classes of deletion correcting codes, such as Helberg, Levenshtein, and Shifted Varshamov- Tenengolts codes, as special cases. Our approach generalizes the number-theoretic methods previously used for evaluating the size of single deletion correcting codes, and also leads to a new explicit formula for the number of binary solutions of an arbitrary linear congruence which might be also of independent interest.
Doulas as Agents of Reproductive Justice Who Promote of Women’s International Human Rights: An Evidence-Based Review and Comparative Case Study Between Brazil and the United States

Increasingly, women’s health is improving, and women’s rights are being realized. In spite of this, women’s healthcare experiences and internationally recognized health indicators suggest that the quality of maternal healthcare is inadequate for many women. Reproductive justice serves as a platform to both improve reproductive health and reproductive rights. We argue that doulas serve as agents of reproductive justice because their work advances maternal health and women’s empowerment through three means: improving health outcomes, promoting women’s control over their health, and reducing cost-related health disparities. Using a reproductive justice lens, this paper explores the ways in which doula work supports the goals of the international human rights community through various human rights declarations and goals of the United Nations that focus on women’s health, maternal health, child health, and women’s empowerment. Specifically, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women, and the Sustainable Development Goals are analyzed to identify how doula services may be incorporated to complement strategies to improve maternal health. This paper also provides a cross-cultural comparison of how doula work is promoted and challenged through national policies and programs in two case example countries representing different health systems, cultures, and stages of development: Brazil and the United States. This comparison provides a practical application of our hypothesis that countries adopting doula-friendly policies may better promote reproductive justice and engage in the promotion of international human rights.
Virtual, Augmented, and Mixed Reality for Human-Robot Interaction (VAM-HRI)

The 2 nd International Workshop on Virtual, Augmented, and Mixed Reality for Human-Robot Interactions (VAM-HRI) will bring together HRI, Robotics, and Mixed Reality researchers to identify challenges in mixed reality interactions between humans and robots. Topics relevant to the workshop include development of robots that can interact with humans in mixed reality, use of virtual reality for developing interactive robots, the design of new augmented reality interfaces that mediate communication between humans and robots, comparisons of the capabilities and perceptions of robots and virtual agents, and best design practices. VAM-HRI was held for the first time at HRI 2018, where it served as the first workshop of its kind at an academic AI or Robotics conference, and served as a timely call to arms to the academic community in response to the growing promise of this emerging field. VAM-HRI 2019 will follow on the success of VAM-HRI 2018, and present new opportunities for expanding this nascent research community. Website http://vam-hri.xyz/
Eleven Themes in the History of Systemic and Nervous System Vasculitides

Vasculitis is defined as inflammation of blood vessel walls for at least some time during the course of the disease, and affects arteries and veins of varying caliber. Two Chapel Hill Consensus Conferences, in 1994 and 2012, provide consensus on nosology and definitions for the commonest forms of vasculitis. The category of single-organ vasculitis, suggesting the limited expression of a systemic vasculitis, includes primary central nervous system vasculitis and nonsystemic peripheral nervous system vasculitis. The historical aspects of systemic and limited forms of vasculitis are reviewed in 11 relevant themes.
The Climate System

Insolation is the incoming energy from the Sun. It is at shorter wavelengths of ultraviolet, the visible spectrum, and the near infrared. Albedo is the reflection of incoming energy back into space by the planet. To maintain a given temperature, the Earth radiates energy back into space at invisible infrared wavelengths. In doing so, it must redistribute the energy. But the weather is inherently chaotic. The major components of Earth’s climate system are air, earth, ice, and water: the atmosphere, hydrosphere, cryosphere, and land. Climatic regions are commonly classified by their vegetation, which integrates the climate signal over time. Some uncertainties in the components of the climate scheme remain.
Exploiting Breadth in Energy Datasets for Automated Device Identification

The recent explosion of interest in smart building energy-efficiency has led to a proliferation of public energy datasets. Most of these datasets focus on depth (i.e., many devices in a few buildings) as opposed to breadth (e.g., a few devices in many buildings), and thus most smart building algorithms are evaluated on depth-oriented datasets. We argue that increasing data breadth conveys important benefits that are not easily achieved by even a large quantity of deep data. As an illustrative case study, we consider the problem of classifying previously unseen appliances using an off-the-shelf classifier trained on known instances of other devices. Our experiments on multiple real-world datasets (both depth- and breadth-oriented) demonstrate significant and sustained benefits from increased data breadth, and point to the importance of incorporating greater breadth into similar techniques that rely on generalized electrical load models.
Plasma-treated carbon-fiber microelectrodes for improved purine detection with fast-scan cyclic voltammetry

Here, we developed N2 and O2 plasma-treated carbon-fiber microelectrodes (CFME) for improved purine detection with fast-scan cyclic voltammetry (FSCV). Plasma treatment affects the topology and functionality of carbon which impacts the electrode-analyte interaction. CFME's are less sensitive to purines compared to catecholamines. Knowledge of how the electrode surface drives purine-electrode interaction would provide insight into methods to improve purine detection. Here, plasma-treated CFME's with N2 and O2 plasma was used to investigate the extent to which the surface functionality and topology affects purine detection and to improve purine sensing with FSCV. On average, O2 plasma increased the oxidative current for adenosine and ATP by 6.0 ± 1.2-fold and 6.4 ± 1.6-fold, and guanosine and GTP by 2.8 ± 0.47-fold and 5.8 ± 1.4-fold, respectively (n = 9). The O2 plasma increased the surface roughness and oxygen functionality. N2 plasma increased the oxidative current for adenosine and ATP by 1.5 ± 0.15-fold and 1.9 ± 0.23-fold, and guanosine and GTP by 1.4 ± 0.20-fold and 1.5 ± 0.20-fold, respectively (n = 11). N2 plasma increased the nitrogen functionality with minimal increases in roughness. Both plasma treatments impacted purines more than dopamine. Langmuir isotherms revealed that both plasma gases impact the theoretical surface coverage and adsorption strength of purines at the electrode. Overall, we show that purine detection is improved at surfaces with increased surface roughness, and oxygen and amine functionality. Plasma-treated CFMEs could be used in the future to study the analyte-electrode interaction of other neurochemicals.
Framework for model predictive control (MPC)-based surface condensation prevention for thermo-active building systems (TABS)

Abstract The potential risk of developing surface condensation keeps thermo-active building systems (TABS) from being applied in buildings located in partly warm and humid climate regions. This study presents a framework for model predictive control (MPC)-based surface condensation prevention that can avoid the surface condensation during the cooling periods when the TABS is in operation. Because MPC determines the input signal for the system not only on the basis of the current states but also on the impact that the actions will have on the future states, it is suitable for anticipatory surface condensation control that must respond to both dynamic indoor condition changes and the time-delay in hygrothermal transfer in advance. Heat and moisture transfer dynamic models were developed for prediction of future states and these dynamic models were calibrated with the measured data to improve the surface condensation prediction accuracy. On the basis of future states predicted by the calibrated dynamic models, the MPC-based condensation prevention framework adjusts the surface temperature for the TABS in ways that ensure indoor thermal comfort and energy efficiency without the development of surface condensation. The results demonstrated that the MPC-based TABS operation achieved 21.0 − 29.6% site cooling distribution energy savings compared to the conventional forced air-based cooling mode depending on the climatic regions; in comparison between the TABS governed by the MPC framework and by the on/off control, 2.5 − 10.0% more site cooling distribution energy savings were achieved through use of the MPC framework than through use of the on/off control.
A qualitative research study comparing nutrition advice communicated by registered Dietitian and non-Registered Dietitian bloggers

Background: Regardless of credentials or expertise, anyone can disseminate nutrition information online, putting the public at risk of receiving unreliable and harmful advice. Registered Dietitians...
Transient absorption of transition metal dichalcogenide monolayers studied by a photodope-pump-probe technique

We report three-pulse photodope-pump-probe measurements on photocarrier dynamics in semiconducting transition metal dichalcogenide monolayers of ${\mathrm{MoS}}_{2}$, ${\mathrm{WS}}_{2}$, ${\mathrm{MoSe}}_{2}$, and ${\mathrm{WSe}}_{2}$. The samples are fabricated by metal-organic chemical vapor deposition and mechanical exfoliation techniques and characterized by photoluminescence spectroscopy. In the time-resolved measurement, the samples are first photodoped by a prepulse, which injects background photocarriers of various densities. A pump pulse then injects photocarriers, whose dynamics is monitored by measuring a differential reflection of a time-delayed probe pulse. We found that the ultrafast decay component of the differential reflection signal, which has been widely reported before, shows minimal dependence on the background exciton density. This observation shows that a previously suggested carrier-trapping model cannot account for this component. The results thus further support an exciton-formation model that was previously proposed based on spectroscopic evidence.
Great nephrologists begin with great teachers: update on the nephrology curriculum.

Purpose of review The purpose of this review is to highlight developments and opportunities in the nephrology curriculum from the basic science foundation years through teaching medical students, residents and fellows in the clinical realm. Recent findings Teaching skills are a vital tool for nephrologists both to promote excellent patient care and attract talented learners to the field. Exposure to dynamic and inspiring nephrologists is one of the main factors given by students and residents for selecting a career in nephrology. Nephrology teaching, including case discussions, problem-based learning, team-based learning and flipped classrooms, provides motivating active learning for medical students and is equally effective for didactics in graduate medical education. Avenues for teaching in the clinical realm include the microskills framework, bedside teaching and grounding in evidence-based medicine. Areas of growth include blended nephrology/subspecialty fields as well as social media applications. Summary Medical education is a satisfying and exciting area of growth in the field of nephrology. The recent literature provides a framework for best practices in active learning as well as providing numerous examples of educational interventions and innovations. In addition, this field is ripe for further development and scholarly activity.
Spontaneous Anchoring-Mediated Topography of an Orientable Fluid

A topography in a Newtonian fluid occurs if there is a disturbance near the surface. But what if there is no such disturbance? We show by optical profilometry that a thin nematic film resting on a topological-defect-patterned substrate can exhibit a hill or divot at the opposing free (air) interface in the absence of a topological disturbance at that interface. We propose a model that incorporates several material properties and that predicts the major experimental features. This work demonstrates the importance of, in particular, anisotropic surface interactions in the creation of a free-surface topography.
Middle Turbinate Lateralization

A 72-year-old female presented with a history of multiple previous endoscopic sinus surgeries who was evaluated by an outside otolaryngologist for a soft tissue mass within the right frontal recess. Her primary complaints were excessive tearing, progressive blurry vision, occasional diplopia when looking down, and headache. The otolaryngologist attempted to biopsy the mass intraoperatively but was unable to gain adequate exposure.
Disparities in Breast Cancer Survivors in Rural West Texas

ObjectivesBreast cancer is the second highest female mortality rate in Texas for all races and ethnicities, except for Hispanics. Interestingly, Hale County is a rural underserved county in West Te...
the Influence of Epidemics on the Indian Populations and Cultures of Texas

Historic records indicate that Indian tribes residing in Texas prior to 1820 suffered no fewer than 30 epidemics during the period of white contact prior to 1890. The cumulative effect of successiv...
Pineal Apoplexy With Cerebral Infarction (P1.033)

OBJECTIVE:We present a case of pineal apoplexy with coincidental acute ischemic stroke. BACKGROUND:The current body of relevant case-reports of pineal apoplexy is limited due to the rarity of this entity. A Pubmed literature search revealed no reported cases of pineal apoplexy with acute stroke. DESIGN/METHODS:A 38 year-old previously healthy right-handed obese Hispanic female with no vascular risk factors presented to an outside hospital with headaches, decreased vision, and difficulty walking progressing to severe weakness, complete loss of vision, and altered level of consciousness. She was transferred for higher level of care to our academic center. Upon arrival, she rapidly progressed to decorticate posturing. Initial CT head scan revealed pineal hemorrhage and cerebellar herniation diagnostic of pineal apoplexy with hydrocephalus. Following external ventricular drain placement, intracranial pressure normalized and patient immediately began to follow commands. Post-shunt diffusion-weighted MRI revealed scattered areas of restricted diffusion compatible with acute ischemic strokes in both cerebral hemispheres, which were not seen on initial CT. RESULTS:The ischemic infarctions on MRI were in more than one vascular territory in both the anterior and posterior cerebral circulation. This indicates an embolic mechanism of stroke originating from a cardiac or aortic source or from paradoxical embolism. Our patient had no obvious vascular risk factors other than obesity. To explain the co-occurrence of pineal apoplexy and acute cerebral infarctions, the same cardiac source may have embolized to both the pineal gland causing secondary hemorrhagic infarction and to the cortex causing ischemic infarctions. CONCLUSIONS:Although it appears that the infarcts were caused by the apoplexy due to their temporal progression, we conclude that pineal apoplexy was unlikely to cause the patient’s stroke and that the potential culprit of both events was a proximal source such as a cardiac or aortic thromboembolism. Disclosure: Dr. Truong has nothing to disclose. Dr. Young has nothing to disclose. Dr. Naderi has nothing to disclose. Dr. Brizuela has nothing to disclose. Dr. Handwerker has nothing to disclose. Dr. Al-Khoury has nothing to disclose.
Cloning and synthesis of infectious cardiovirus RNAs containing short, discrete poly(C) tracts.

Abstract Mengovirus RNA transcripts with 5' noncoding poly(C) tracts of C8, C12, and C13UC10 have been synthesized in vitro from cDNA clones and shown to be infectious to HeLa cells. A chimeric clone has also been constructed which links the 5' end from one mengovirus clone (299 nucleotides, containing C13UC10) to a 7,424-base fragment derived from the 3' end of encephalomyocarditis (EMC) virus. Progeny virus isolated after transfection with the clone-derived RNAs had the same poly(C) tracts, mengovirus-specific sequences, or EMC virus-specific sequences as the transcript from which it was derived. Although the cloned poly(C) tracts were considerably shorter than those found in viral RNA from mengovirus (C50UC10) or EMC virus (C115UCUC3UC10), the growth characteristics of the progeny viruses in HeLa cells were indistinguishable from those of the parental viruses, indicating the length of this tract does not play a significant restrictive role for cardiovirus infectivity in tissue culture.
TWO RECA GENES IN MYXOCOCCUS XANTHUS

Two recA genes, recA1 and recA2, in Myxococcus xanthus were cloned by using the recA gene of Escherichia coli, and their DNA sequences were determined. On the basis of deduced amino acid sequences, RecA1 and RecA2 have 67.0% identity to each other and 60.5 and 60.9% identities to E. coli RecA, respectively. Expression of recA2 was detected in both vegetative and developmental cells by Northern blot (RNA) analysis, and a threefold induction was observed when cells were treated with nalidixic acid. Repeated attempts to isolate a recA2 disruption mutant have failed, while a recA1 disruption mutant was readily isolated. Both the recA1 and recA2 genes expressed in E. coli complement the UV sensitivity of an E. coli recA strain.
Chap. 29 Reactions of Interest in Medicinal Chemistry

Publisher Summary This chapter focuses on some new and/or novel reactions that are of interest in medicinal chemistry. The reactions described in the chapter are grouped in a classical manner as far as possible. Various researchers offer a condensed and critical evaluation of modern basic synthetic methods. The continuous investigation of various addition reactions gives unique synthetic methods for the preparation of new types of compounds. Methods of reduction are constantly being explored and hydrogenation with homogeneous catalysts has the advantage of being unaffected by the usual catalyst poisons. The reduction can be performed under relatively mild conditions as illustrated by the hydrogenation of methyl linoleate in the presence of iron pentacarbonyl catalyst—Fe(CO) 5 —to produce a monoene in 65.5% yield at 100 °C and 400 psi. The homogeneous catalytic hydrogenation of acetylenes gives quantitative yield of the corresponding alkanes. Hydrogenation occurred at less than 1 atm. at 20 °C using 0.005 mole (Ph 3 P) 3 RhCl and 2 moles of the acetylene all dissolved in a mixture of ethanol-benzene. Diimide (H 2 N 2 ) reductions have been reported many times and continuous work on their selectivity is underway. Diimide is used in the reduction of aldehydes and ketones to the corresponding alcohols. Aliphatic carbonyls are reduced slowly and the yield is low (max 14%), whereas aromatic aldehydes and ketones gives yields as high as 56%.
Phase relations in fluoroborate systems—I: Material preparation and the systems NaFNaBF4 and KFKBF4

Abstract High-purity NaBF4 and KBF4 having higher melting points than any previously reported were prepared. These preparations were used in a reinvestigation of phase relations in the systems NaFNaBF4 and KFKBF4 by means of differential thermal analysis (D.T.A.) and gradient quenching techniques. Both were found to be simple eutectic systems with eutectics melting at 384±2°C for the NaFNaBF4 system and 460±2°C for the KFKBF4 system.
On the selection of auxiliary functions, operators, and convergence control parameters in the application of the Homotopy Analysis Method to nonlinear differential equations: A general approach

Abstract The Homotopy Analysis Method of Liao [Liao SJ. Beyond perturbation: introduction to the Homotopy Analysis Method. Boca Raton: Chapman & Hall/CRC Press; 2003] has proven useful in obtaining analytical solutions to various nonlinear differential equations. In this method, one has great freedom to select auxiliary functions, operators, and parameters in order to ensure the convergence of the approximate solutions and to increase both the rate and region of convergence. We discuss in this paper the selection of the initial approximation, auxiliary linear operator, auxiliary function, and convergence control parameter in the application of the Homotopy Analysis Method, in a fairly general setting. Further, we discuss various convergence requirements on solutions.
Two-stage minimax regret robust uncapacitated lot-sizing problems with demand uncertainty

Abstract In this paper, we consider the two-stage minimax robust uncapacitated lot-sizing problem with interval uncertain demands. A mixed integer programming formulation is proposed. Even though the robust uncapacitated lot-sizing problem with discrete scenarios is an NP -hard problem, we show that it is polynomial solvable under the interval uncertain demand set.
Explaining Perceptions of Administrative Support among Prison Treatment Staff: A Spotlight on Deputy Wardens in Charge of Treatment.

Abstract This paper explores how perceptions of administrative support among 83 treatment staff working in a midwest prison system vary according to personal and work-related variables. It extends on previous literature by: (1) analyzing how perceptions of administrative support vary exclusively among prison treatment staff; (2) focusing on a single type of manager, the deputy warden overseeing treatment services, to avoid aggregation problems; and (3) adding new predictor variables to the study of perceptions of prison managers, such as education, danger, paperwork, and caseload. Ordinary least squares (OLS) regression was utilized to analyze an eight-item scale measuring overall perceptions of administrative support among treatment staff. In addition, each of the eight items was analyzed separately using backward logistic regression. Our results indicate that demographic variables, particularly age and education, were better overall predictors of administrative support than work-related variables. Furth...
Entanglement Dynamics of a Four Particle System

We calculate the time evolution of entanglement for a simple four particle system. The appearance of the sudden death effect is found to depend critically on the choice of initial state.
Risk-informed assessment of Scott Stadium evacuation through agent-based simulation

The risk of personal injury from lightning and other threats is increasing without being consistently addressed through continuous improvement of evacuation operations. Three major factors contribute to this growing risk. First, natural and man-made disasters (e.g., lightning storms) remain a constant threat. Second, stadium expansion, renovation, and increased utilization allow more spectators at a greater number of events, which amplifies nation-wide exposure to both natural and man-made disasters. Third, evacuation and disaster management plans are quite complex because they require the coordination of spectators, ushers, managers, police officers, firefighters, medical teams, and athletes, among others, and do not always keep up with the changes to stadium or community emergency management procedures. Analysts are increasingly able to capture certain individual and crowd behaviors through simulation. Our team has constructed a simulation by section, ensuring the quality and correctness of the utilized computer drawings and making corrections as necessary to build a valid model. Through analysis of individual subsections of the stadium, we have noticed that 99% of the attendees within the 70 sections of a total of approximately 60,000 people evacuated in about 19 minutes, with 50% of the population evacuated in 6 minutes and 95% of the population evacuated within 15 minutes. The full capacity evacuation started with evacuees in the stands, and the first evacuees reached the exits within the first minute.
Characterization of the phospholipids in the insect parasite, Exeristes roborator (Fabricius) and the effects of dietary glucose on their distribution

Abstract 1. 1. The concentration of total phospholipid in the parasite, Exeristes roborator, reared on chemically defined media increased in response to increased dietary glucose level, although the proportion of phospholipid to total lipid decreased. The proportion of radioactivity incorporated into phospholipid from [2-14C] acetate also decreased although the absolute amount of activity increased. 2. 2. [14C(U)] glycerolphosphate was incorporated only into phospholipid and triglyceride indicating their de novo synthesis by esterification of glycerolphosphate, and the proportion of radioactive glycerolphosphate incorporated into triglyceride increased with increasing dietary glucose. 3. 3. Dietary glucose also had a marked effect on the degree of saturation in both lipid fractions and on the proportion of radioactive glycerolphosphate incorporated into phosphatidyl choline and phosphatidyl ethanolamine.
Paying the cost of skeptical theism

In this paper I show that two arguments for the inconsistency of skeptical theism fail. After setting up the debate in “Introduction” section, I show in “The initial debate” section why Mylan Engel’s argument (Engel 2004) against skeptical theism does not succeed. In “COST” section I strengthen the argument so that it both avoids my reply to Engel and parallels Jon Laraudogoitia’s argument against skeptical theism (Laraudogoitia 2000). In “COST*” section, I provide three replies—one by an evidentialist theist, one by a closure-denying theist, and one by a necessitarian theist, and argue that the necessitarian’s reply successfully rebuts the inconsistency charge. I conclude that skeptical theism which accepts God’s necessary existence is immune to both kinds of arguments for its inconsistency.
Artificial mosaic proteins as new immunodiagnostic reagents: the hepatitis E virus experience.

Background: Naturally occurring viral proteins derived from cell culture and recombinant proteins expressed in procaryotic systems have been used extensively as target proteins in the development of immunoassay methods for the detection of antibodies. However, immunoassays utilizing these proteins often yield false-positive reactions suggesting that it may be possible to identify and remove regions responsible for these non-specific reactions. Objective: In this paper we describe a new strategy for the construction of immunoreactive recombinant proteins designed to improve immunoassay specificity. Study design: A synthetic gene encoding an artificial polypeptide composed of antigenic epitopes of the hepatitis E virus (HEV) proteins was constructed from short oligonucleotides by the polymerase chain reaction (PCR). The polypeptide comprises a mosaic of three antigenically dominant regions from the protein encoded by open reading frame 2 (ORF2), one antigenically active region from the protein encoded by ORF3 of the Burmese HEV strain, and one antigenically active region from the protein encoded by ORF3 of the Mexican strain. The mosaic protein was expressed in Escherichia coli as a chimera with glutathione-S-transferase or β-galactosidase. Results: Guinea pig sera containing antibodies to the corresponding HEV synthetic peptides were used to demonstrate by immunoblot analysis and by enzyme immunoassay (EIA) the presence and accessibility of all HEV-specific antigenic epitopes designed into the mosaic protein. Both hybrid proteins were shown by immunoblot analysis using a panel of human anti-HEV-positive and -negative sera to be HEV-specific. A sensitive and specific EIA was developed to detect IgG anti-HEV activity in human sera. A neutralization test using individual synthetic peptides corresponding to the epitopes designed into the mosaic protein was also developed to confirm IgG anti-HEV activity by absorbing the specimen before retesting by EIA. Conclusion: An artificial mosaic protein composed of short linear HEV-specific antigenic epitopes was constructed from synthetic oligonucleotides by PCR and used to develop a sensitive and specific EIA for the detection of anti-HEV activity in human sera.
A Grounded Theory of Master's-Level Counselor Research Identity.

A grounded theory approach was used to examine the research identity of 17 master's-level counseling trainees and practitioners. The emergent theory gave an understanding to sources of variation in the process and outcome of research identity. The authors provide recommendations for counselor educators to use with current and former students.
Chemometric Analysis of Compositional Variation in Bison and Cow Patties: A Biogeochemistry–Environmental Chemistry Experiment

Manure has been used as a fertilizer throughout recorded history; however, the high levels of nutrients in farm and feedlot runoff present many environmental problems. Analyses of nutrient cycling in manure and soil litter are important to issues such as global warming and land use. In this laboratory, chemical differences in aged manure patties from buffalo (Bison bison) and cow (Bos taurus) raised on ranches versus nature preserves are examined. These measurements offer a chance to introduce the basics of chemometrics such as factorial experimental design and multivariate analysis in an environmental context that captures student interest. These important methods are appropriate to instrumental analysis or environmental chemistry, but are rarely integrated into these courses.
Exercise Training Reverses the Age-Related Decline in Tyrosine Hydroxylase Expression in Rat Hypothalamus

Tyrosine hydroxylase (TH) is the rate-limiting enzymatic step in the catecholamine biosynthesis pathway. Some studies have demonstrated that aging is associated with a decrease in TH activity and TH mRNA in rat hypothalamus. We previously demonstrated that exercise training can decrease TH gene expression in the adrenal medulla of young but not senescent rats. This study was designed to examine the effects of endurance training on the TH expression in hypothalamus with aging. To this end, we assessed TH mRNA, TH immunoreactivity, and TH activity with or without exercise training. Young and old F-344 female rats were trained by treadmill running for 8 weeks. All parameters examined were significantly lower in hypothalamus of old (25-month) compared with young (5-month) control animals (p < .05). Exercise training significantly elevated TH mRNA (n = 5-7 in each group), TH immunoreactivity (n = 5-8 in each group), and TH activity (n = 12-13 young groups and n = 6 old groups) in the hypothalamus of old animals (p < .05), but there was no significant change in any of these parameters in young animals following training. These data indicate that endurance training can reverse the age-related decline in catecholamine biosynthesis in the hypothalamus.
Age as a deciding factor in the consideration of futility for a medical intervention in patients among internal medicine physicians in two practice locations.

Objectives This study explores physicians' concepts of futility and use of age as a deciding factor in considering medical futility in clinical interventions. Design Survey. Setting Five academic hospitals in the United States. Participants Participants were 355 internal medicine physicians, including 162 residents, 98 fellows, and 95 attending physicians. Measurement Anonymous questionnaire in which respondents were asked to define futility and to rate patient scenarios as futile or not, unaware that these were pairs of patient scenarios with similar clinical severity and treatment, but different age. Results Forty-five percent (n = 159) of physicians used the most accepted definition of futility in the literature: “a therapy that will not benefit the patient in attaining a specific goal.” Physicians rated patient scenarios as futile for 58% of elder (≥65 years) and for 59% of nonelder ( P = .21). By training level, resident physicians rated more elder cases as futile (60%) than fellow/attending physicians (56%, P = .03). Rating of medical futility did not differ by practice location (59% in Missouri and 59% in Puerto Rico, P = .13). Conclusion Physicians did not use age as a factor in deciding the futility of a medical intervention. In patient scenarios with comparable clinical severity of illness, medical interventions were similarly rated as futile in elder and nonelder persons. Less-experienced physicians (residents) were more likely to rate elder cases as futile compared with experienced physicians (attending/fellows).