cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Fatal Toxic Epidermal Necrolysis Associated with Minoxidil

Minoxidil is a direct-acting peripheral vasodilator for the treatment of symptomatic hypertension, or refractory hypertension associated with target organ damage, that is not manageable with a diuretic and two other antihypertensive drugs. The most frequent adverse events associated with minoxidil include hypertrichosis and cardiovascular events related to its powerful antihypertensive effect, and less frequently, rashes, bullous eruptions, and Stevens-Johnson syndrome (SJS). Evidence suggests that SJS and toxic epidermal necrolysis (TEN) are variants of a single disease with common causes and mechanisms, but differing severities. Epidermal detachment is mild in SJS, moderate in overlap SJS-TEN, and severe (> 30% of body surface area) in TEN. We describe a case of minoxidil-associated SJS that evolved into fatal TEN. A 69-year-old African-American woman with a history of chronic kidney disease was admitted to the hospital for a cerebrovascular accident and uncontrolled hypertension. On hospital day 12, oral minoxidil was added to her drug regimen. On day 23, she developed a maculopapular rash on her face that gradually diffused to her chest and back. Vesicles and papular lesions extended to her extremities and mucosal membranes; results of a skin biopsy revealed SJS. A positive Nikolsky's sign (blisters spread on application of pressure) was detected. On days 27-31, diffuse bullae developed with rash exacerbation. Skin detachment exceeded 30% and was consistent with TEN. The patient died on day 39. An evaluation of the causality and time course suggested that minoxidil was the most likely culpable drug, with a Naranjo adverse drug reaction probability scale score indicating that the likelihood of the association was possible (score of 3). The mechanism of this reaction has not been well elucidated. It may be related to an impaired clearance of the minoxidil metabolite, or an immune stimulation resulting in apoptosis and epidermis destruction. To our knowledge, this is the first case report of fatal TEN associated with minoxidil. This case report emphasizes the importance of monitoring for serious dermatologic reactions in patients receiving minoxidil therapy.
Design of an Offshore Wind Farm on Lake Michigan: Part 1

The potential of offshore wind is among the newest technologies in renewable energy. Utilizing a 10% wind speed increase over open waters, an increase in power production can be seen of approximately 30%. In the present study, a location on Lake Michigan is determined based on the wind resources, lakebed depth, and ease of access to existing onshore substations and transmission lines. An analysis of the wind resources at the site will be used to determine if the development of the site is feasible. A turbine review and park layout analysis is completed to give the base for Part 2 (the design phase). Part 2 outline is presented.
Towards window stream queries over continuous phenomena

Technological advances have created an unprecedented availability of inexpensive sensors capable of streaming environmental data in real-time. Data stream engines (DSE) with tuple processing rates of around 500k tuples/s have demonstrated their ability to both keep up with large numbers of spatio-temporal data streams, and execute stream window queries over them efficiently. Typically, geographically distributed sensors take samples asynchronously; however, when approximating the reality of a continuous phenomenon --- such as the radiation field over an urban region- the objective is to integrate their values correctly over space as well as over time. This paper presents an approach to extend DSEs with support enabling sliding window queries over dynamic continuous phenomena, which return both spatio-temporal snapshot and movies as window query results. We introduce a novel grid-pane index as a main memory index structure shared between multi-queries over a phenomenon and an adaptive, data driven kNN algorithm for efficiently approximating cells based on available stream data samples. AkNN implements a spatio-temporal inverse distance weighting interpolation (IDW) method that integrates time with space via an anisotropic ratio. Further, we introduce the shell list template that allows quick calculation of NN cells by distance in a space-time (ST) cuboid. We performed extensive performance evaluations using the Fukushima nuclear event in March 2011 as a test data set.
Transonic Flutter Suppression Control Law Design and Wind-Tunnel Test Results

Fluttersuppressioncontrollawdesignandwind-tunneltestresultsintransonice owforaNACA0012wingmodel, under the benchmark active control technology program at NASA Langley Research Center, will be presented. Two control law design processes using classical and minimax techniques are described. Design considerations for improving the multivariable system robustness are outlined. The classical control law was digitally implemented and tested in the NASA Langley Transonic Dynamics Tunnel. In wind-tunnel tests in air and heavy gas medium, the closed-loop e utter dynamic pressure was increased by over 50% up to the wind-tunnel upper limit. The active e utter suppression system also provided signie cant robustness, relative to gain and phase perturbations, even in the presence of transonic shocks and e ow separation.
Intrusive Thoughts Mediate the Association between Neuroticism and Cognitive Function.

Although research has established a negative association between trait neuroticism and cognition, little is known about the mechanisms that underlie this relationship. We examined the tendency to experience intrusive thoughts and negative affect as potential mediators of the relationship between neuroticism and cognitive performance. We hypothesized that the tendency to experience intrusive thoughts reflects ineffective attentional control and would account for the relationship between neuroticism and cognitive performance over and above the mediating effect of negative affect. Three hundred seventeen adults (Mage =49.43) completed a series of attention-demanding cognitive tasks as well as self-report measures of intrusive thoughts, negative affect, and neuroticism. Intrusive thoughts mediated the association between trait neuroticism and cognitive performance beyond negative affect. These findings are consistent with the hypothesis that the tendency to experience intrusive thoughts is a mechanism through which trait neuroticism influences cognitive performance.
Improving the curriculum for aspiring management accountants: The practitioner's point of view

Abstract Although prior research has identified ranked lists of cost/managerial accounting topics that may approximate a common body of knowledge for management accounting, these topics must exist within a specific educational context. The context, or educational framework, could include attributes other than technical accounting topics. This study, which provides the practicing management accountant's point of view, focuses on those other attributes.
Information matrix for a mixture of two exponential distributions

This paper presents some numerical methods for computation of Fisher information matrix about the parameters of a mixture of two negative exponential distributions. It is shown that the computation of the information matrix leads to the computation of a particular kind of integrals. An alternating power series is developed for the computation of these integrals, and the results are compared with those obtained by the Laguerre-Gauss quadrature and Romberg's algorithm. Some approximate results are also given for the case where the mixed distributions are not well separated. A brief table is provided which may be useful in practice
Sidewalk Planning and Policies in Small Cities

Transportation planners are recognizing the need for improved conditions for pedestrians. The challenges to pedestrian mobility and sidewalk accessibility include the lack of pedestrian activity, the lack of sidewalk maintenance, the lack of pedestrian planning, the lack of political and financial support for pedestrian planning, and the lack of administrative and technical capacity to implement pedestrian planning. Out of numerous cities in the Central Ohio region, only Worthington had a sidewalk master plan. A pedestrian plan is more likely to succeed if it is incorporated into a comprehensive transportation plan that includes public involvement.
Perineural spread of basal cell carcinomas treated with Mohs micrographic surgery.

BACKGROUND Perineural spread is a well-documented feature of cutaneous tumors and may portend a more aggressive course. The incidence of perineural invasion in basal cell carcinoma (BCC) is reportedly 1%. The authors sought to determine whether perineural spread occurs more commonly than previously thought. METHODS The authors prospectively evaluated 434 patients with BCC treated with Mohs surgery, assessing the presence or absence of perineural inflammation and invasion in tumors requiring more than one stage of surgery. They also documented the demographic features, clinical characteristics, histologic subtype, and operative data in each case. RESULTS Seventy-eight BCCs required more than one stage of Mohs surgery. Perineural inflammation, perineural tumor invasion, or both were present in 29 of the 78 tumors (37%), or 6.7% of all 434 prospectively evaluated cases. Twenty-one of the 78 tumors (26.9%) exhibited perineural inflammation, 3 (3.8%) demonstrated perineural invasion, and 5 (6.4%) exhibited both. Tumors with perineural invasion required 5.3 surgical stages on average for clearance, in contrast to tumors without perineural invasion, which required 2.2 stages. Tumors with perineural inflammation, inflammation plus tumor invasion, and invasion alone were, respectively, 138%, 149%, and 194% greater in area preoperatively than tumors without perineural involvement, and their mean defect areas after Mohs surgery were, respectively, 151%, 121%, and 605% larger than those of tumors without perineural involvement. CONCLUSIONS The incidence of perineural invasion among cases of BCC appears higher than previously recognized. Tumor aggressiveness appears to correlate with the presence of perineural invasion. Surgery with horizontal frozen-section margin control enables easy detection of perineural involvement and should therefore be strongly considered for the treatment of high risk BCC patients. Cancer 2000;88:1605–13. © 2000 American Cancer Society.
Perceptions of economic hardship and emotional health in a pilot sample of family caregivers

Although several studies have quantified costs of cancer care; none to date have examined how cancer costs impact family caregivers’ emotional health. This study was designed to evaluate how perceptions of economic hardship influence burden, depressive symptoms, and anxiety in family caregivers of persons with a primary malignant brain tumor. Caregiver (CG)/patient dyads (n = 33) were recruited at the time of diagnosis; data were collected at diagnosis and 4 months, and linear regression determined the impact of economic hardship on caregivers’ emotional health. Economic hardship did not predict CG burden-schedule at diagnosis or 4 months. Economic hardship predicted burden-abandonment at diagnosis (P < 0.01), but not 4 months. There was a trend for economic hardship to predict CG depressive symptoms at 4 months (P = 0.09), but not at diagnosis. Economic hardship predicted CG anxiety at 4 months (P = 0.06), but not diagnosis. Results suggest caregivers’ economic hardship is an important and dynamic aspect of the emotional health of neuro-oncology family caregivers.
Organochlorine contaminants in endangered Steller sea lion pups (Eumetopias jubatus) from western Alaska and the Russian Far East.

Abstract Investigations into the cause of the Steller sea lion population decline have focused on numerous factors, including exposure to toxic contaminants such as organochlorines (OCs). OCs, such as polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), 1,1,1-trichloro-2,2-bis(p-chlorophenyl)ethane, or dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT), have been associated with various biological effects in marine mammals. We measured these compounds in whole blood of free-ranging Steller sea lion pups in order to determine the extent and magnitude of contamination across their geographical range. Of 212 pups analyzed for OCs, 76 pups (36 females and 40 males) were from western Alaska and the other 136 (63 females and 73 males) were from the Russian Far East. Concentrations of ∑PCBs in the whole blood of pups from western Alaska ranged from 0.21 to 13 ng/g wet weight with a mean of 2.1 ± 0.27 ng/g wet weight. In the Russian animals, ∑PCB concentrations in the whole blood of pups ranged from 0.33 to 36 ng/g wet weight with a mean of 4.3 ± 0.44 ng/g wet weight. ∑DDT concentrations in the whole blood of pups from western Alaska ranged from 0.18 to 11 ng/g wet weight with a mean of 1.6 ± 0.23 ng/g wet weight. In Russia, ∑DDT in the whole blood of pups ranged from undetectable to 26 ng/g wet weight with a mean of 3.3 ± 0.36 ng/g wet weight. Average OC concentrations were significantly higher in the blood of Russian animals compared to western Alaska (for PCBs and DDTs, p
The Social Reorientation of Ukraine's Economic Structure

Decades of totalitarian domination in the former USSR, the five-year period of anarchistic "perestroika" of its economy according to M[ikhail] Gorbachev's methods, and the unsystematic and inconsistent market reforms of the last five years (1991-95) under the conditions of the independent existence of independent states unfortunately did not lead to deep structural and qualitative changes in the socioeconomic situation in the great majority of post-socialist countries. Moreover, their economies were extremely exhausted, their micro- and macroeconomic structures were even more deformed, and they were in a state of dire crisis.
Signal enhancement ratio (SER) quantified from breast DCE-MRI and breast cancer risk

Breast magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is recommended as an adjunct to mammography for women who are considered at elevated risk of developing breast cancer. As a key component of breast MRI, dynamic contrast-enhanced MRI (DCE-MRI) uses a contrast agent to provide high intensity contrast between breast tissues, making it sensitive to tissue composition and vascularity. Breast DCE-MRI characterizes certain physiologic properties of breast tissue that are potentially related to breast cancer risk. Studies have shown that increased background parenchymal enhancement (BPE), which is the contrast enhancement occurring in normal cancer-unaffected breast tissues in post-contrast sequences, predicts increased breast cancer risk. Signal enhancement ratio (SER) computed from pre-contrast and post-contrast sequences in DCE-MRI measures change in signal intensity due to contrast uptake over time and is a measure of contrast enhancement kinetics. SER quantified in breast tumor has been shown potential as a biomarker for characterizing tumor response to treatments. In this work we investigated the relationship between quantitative measures of SER and breast cancer risk. A pilot retrospective case-control study was performed using a cohort of 102 women, consisting of 51 women who had diagnosed with unilateral breast cancer and 51 matched controls (by age and MRI date) with a unilateral biopsy-proven benign lesion. SER was quantified using fully-automated computerized algorithms and three SER-derived quantitative volume measures were compared between the cancer cases and controls using logistic regression analysis. Our preliminary results showed that SER is associated with breast cancer risk, after adjustment for the Breast Imaging Reporting and Data System (BI-RADS)-based mammographic breast density measures. This pilot study indicated that SER has potential for use as a risk factor for breast cancer risk assessment in women at elevated risk of developing breast cancer.
Same barcode, different biology: differential patterns of infectivity, specificity and pathogenicity in two almost identical parasite strains.

Abstract Two Norwegian isolates of the monogenean Gyrodactylus salaris Malmberg, 1957 with identical cytochrome c oxidase subunit I barcodes from different hosts, show highly divergent biological and behavioural characteristics. The Lierelva parasite strain, typically infecting Atlantic salmon, Salmo salar L., grew exponentially on Atlantic salmon, but the Palsbufjorden parasite strain, commonly infecting Arctic charr, Salvelinus alpinus L., grew slowly on both hosts and was non-pathogenic to Atlantic salmon. Both parasite strains reproduced successfully on Arctic charr, but the Atlantic salmon-infecting Lierelva strain grew faster on both hosts. Experiments with isolated worms revealed differences in reproductive rates which may account for the observed population differences. Atlantic salmon parasites consistently gave birth at an earlier age than the Arctic charr parasites, with the differential increasing from 1 day for the first birth up to 2–4 days for the third birth. Arctic charr-infecting parasites were more active on Atlantic salmon than salmon parasites on Arctic charr, a behavioural strategy leading to enhanced G. salaris mortality. Sequencing of 10 kb of nuclear genomic markers revealed only four single nucleotide polymorphisms, confirming that isolates of G. salaris with differences in fitness traits influencing establishment, fecundity and behaviour may be remarkably similar at a molecular level. The framework for reporting and control of G. salaris requires re-appraisal in light of the discovery of variants with such divergent biology.
Comparaison de l'utilisation des cathéters mono- et multilumières. Limite de la technique d'échange du cathéter sur guide métallique

Resume Les catheters veineux centraux (CVC), a simple lumiere, inseres par voie percutanee sont utilises de maniere routiniere pour les perfusions intraveineuses, l'administration de produits sanguins, la nutrition parenterale et l'administration de medicaments. Les CVC de type Swan-Ganz (multilumieres) permettent de surveiller la fonction cardiaque et les constantes hemodynamiques des malades. Les CVC multilumieres (a triple lumiere) autorisent l'administration simultanee des solutes hydroelectrolytiques, de la nutrition parenterale et des medicaments, et devraient de ce fait etre reserves strictement a ces conditions d'utilisation, puisque leur emploi conduit probablement a un risque accru d'infections liees aux catheters. Les facteurs susceptibles d'accroitre le risque infectieux comprennent : l'habilete de l'operateur lors de la mise en place du materiel, l'existence d'une pathologie severe sous-jacente (et en particulier d'un diabete), la duree de catheterisation, le type de soins du catheter, l'administration d'une nutrition parenterale et le remplacement du catheter sur guide metallique. L'accroissement minime du risque infectieux associe au changement des CVC non infectes sur guide est contrebalance par les risques associes a une deuxieme ponction de la veine sous-claviere ou de la veine jugulaire interne. Le remplacement des CVC infectes sur guide doit par contre etre evite. En effet, le risque de transfert des micro-organismes infectants lors du remplacement du catheter par l'intermediaire du guide metallique est substantiel. Tous les catheters remplaces sur guide doivent donc etre cultives de maniere quantitative ou semi-quantitative. Si la culture du premier catheter confirme la presence d'un nombre significatif d'unites formatrices de colonies (UFC/ml), le deuxieme catheter insere sur guide doit etre imperativement retire.
Occupation times and beyond

Abstract Let X t be a continuous local martingale satisfying X 0 =0 and K 1 q ( t )⩽〈 X 〉 t ⩽ K 2 q ( t ) a.s. for a nondecreasing function q with constants K 1 and K 2 . Define for a Borel function f, M t = ∫ 0 t f(X s ) d X s and M t ∗ = sup 0⩽s⩽t |M s | . If f is in L 2 and f ≠0 then for any slowly increasing function φ there exist two positive constants c and C such that for all stopping times T cEφ(M T ∗2 )⩽Eφ( q(T) )⩽C(Eφ(M T ∗2 )+1). Suppose that f 2 is even and ψ(x)= ∫ 0 x ( ∫ 0 y f 2 (t) d t) d y is moderate. If φ satisfies one of the 3 conditions: (i) φ is slowly increasing, (ii) φ is concave if f ∉ L 2 , and (iii) φ is moderate if ψ(x) is convex, then there exist two positive constants c and C such that for all stopping times T cEφ(M T ∗2 )⩽Eφ∘ψ( q(T) )⩽CEφ(M T ∗2 ). Define T r = inf {t>0; |M t |=r}, r>0 . The growth rate function of ET r γ can be found for appropriate γ , as an application of the above inequalities. The method of proving the main result also yields a similar type of two-sided inequality for the integrable Brownian continuous additive functional over all stopping times.
Measuring the success of video segmentation algorithms

Appropriate segmentation of video is a key step for applications such as video surveillance, video composing, video compression, storage and retrieval, and automated target recognition. Video segmentation algorithms involve dissecting the video into scenes based on shot boundaries as well as local objects and events based on spatial shape and regional motions. Many algorithmic approaches to video segmentation have been recently reported, but many lack measures to quantify the success of the segmentation especially in comparison to other algorithms. This paper suggests multiple bench-top measures for evaluating video segmentation. The paper suggests that the measures are most useful when 'truth' data about the video is available such as precise frame-by- frame object shape. When precise 'truth' data is unavailable, this paper suggests using hand-segmented 'truth' data to measure the success of the video segmentation. Thereby, the ability of the video segmentation algorithm to achieve the same quality of segmentation as the human is obtained in the form of a variance in multiple measures. The paper introduces a suite of measures, each scaled from zero to one. A score of one on a particular measure is a perfect score for a singular segmentation measure. Measures are introduced to evaluate the ability of a segmentation algorithm to correctly detect shot boundaries, to correctly determine spatial shape and to correctly determine temporal shape. The usefulness of the measures are demonstrated on a simple segmenter designed to detect and segment a ping pong ball from a table tennis image sequence.
Racial differences in physician usage among the elderly poor in the United States

Abstract Despite the rapidly growing ranks of the elderly in America, the increasing racial and ethnic diversity of this population, and the large number of seniors who are poor, there are relatively few systematic investigations that examine the causes of racial differences in health care use specifically among elders living in poverty. This article addresses this issue by examining differences in patterns of having and using a physician among the elderly poor, the role that race plays and what might explain it. We demonstrate that even within this disadvantaged and medically engaged population there are persistent and significant racial differences in having and using a doctor. Specifically, we show: (1) Whites and women are more likely to have a regular doctor than men and African Americans; (2) Among those who have a doctor, whites and women also visit the doctor with greater frequency than other groups even at the same levels of health or illness; (3) After accounting for the varying levels and effects of social connectedness, racial differences in having a doctor essentially disappear; and (4) While differences in having a regular doctor can be accounted for using measures of social connectedness, substantial and robust racial and gender differences in doctor use remain. In the end, we provide an analysis that examines typical factors known to influence health care use, and find that while need, structural factors, perceptions of care, and social connectedness have a powerful effect on doctor visits, the racial variation in using a doctor cannot be explained away with the available measures.
The Role of Density and Temperature in the Dynamics of Polymer Blends

The relative effect of volume and thermal energy on the local segmental dynamics, as reflected in the ratio of the isochoric, EV, and isobaric, EP, activation enthalpies, is determined for blends of polystyrene (PS) with poly(2,6-dimethyl-1,4-phenylene oxide) (PPO) and with poly(vinyl methyl ether) (PVME). We find that neat PPO near Tg has the lowest value of EV/EP = 0.25 ± 0.02 reported for any polymer, indicating volume-dominated dynamics. Addition of the lower Tg PS alleviates constraints on local motion, resulting in a weaker volume effect. The opposite situation prevails with PS/PVME blends. PS has a higher Tg, and in blends segmental relaxation of the PVME becomes more controlled by volume than for neat PVME. We also show herein that the relaxation times for the PVME/PS blends measured at various T and P superpose when plotted vs Tυγ, where υ is the specific volume and γ is a material constant. This scaling, which has previously been demonstrated for various neat glass-formers and is reported herein...
Solvation Effects on Isomeric Preferences of Curium(III) Complexes with Multidentate phosphonopropionic Acid Ligands: CmH2PPA2+ and CmHPPA+ Complexes

We have carried out both time-resolved laser fluorescence spectroscopic and computational studies on the complexes of curium(III) with multidentate Phosphonopropionic (PPA) acid ligands. A number of complexes of Cm(III) with these ligands, such as CmH2PPA2+, CmHPPA+, Cm[H2PPA]2+, and Cm[HPPA]2− have been studied. Our computational studies focused on all possible isomers in the gas phase and aqueous solution so that the relative binding strengths of carboxylic versus phosphoric groups can be assessed in these multidentate systems. The solvation effects play an important role in the determination of the preferred configurations and binding propensities of carboxylate versus phosphate sites of the ligands. Our computations assess the relative strengths of single and multidentate complexes in solutions for these systems. The computed free energies of solvation explain the experimentally observed fluorescence spectra and the lifetimes of these complexes in that as more water molecules are displaced from the fi...
Corporate environmental policy in practice

Abstract The effect of the green lobby on consumer demand means that organizations need to adopt a structured Corporate Environmental Policy. This article describes how the few British companies who actually have such a policy are implementing it; how the approach to the problems in the U.S.A. and on the Continent of Europe differs; common factors of interest to all groups and nationalities; and suggests how a structured policy should be implemented.
Ship‐based measurements of sea surface topography

[1] By equipping the research vessel Kilo Moana with a geodetic GPS receiver and a radar water level gauge, and using a kinematic GPS processing package, accurate 1 Hz estimates of the sea surface height were obtained. Geodetic positioning of ocean-platforms using only the GPS system cannot account for changes in the draft of the platform. This is especially problematic for ships, where changes in the load, speed and/or ocean density can change the ship's draft by 10s of centimeters. By installing a radar gauge this noise source can be removed from the estimates of the sea surface height. We envision that this technology could routinely provide high resolution information on the geoid, or the variation of the sea surface height, including sea-state, from an existing reference geoid.
Proteomic profiling of maternal plasma collected longitudinally during pregnancy by surface enhanced laser desorption ionization time of flight mass spectrometry (SELDI-TOF MS)

DURING PREGNANCY BY SURFACE ENHANCED LASER DESORPTION IONIZATION TIME OF FLIGHT MASS SPECTROMETRY (SELDI-TOF MS) DANIELLE IPPOLITO, MIKE HARTENSTINE, HEIDI CEDERHOLM, ASPEN BERGMANN, PETER NAPOLITANO, JEREMY CELVER, PATRICK MCNUTT, Madigan Army Medical Center, Department of Clinical Investigation, Tacoma, Washington, Madigan Army Medical Center, Tacoma, Washington OBJECTIVE: Maternal plasma is an accessible biological fluid for investigating proteins modulated during fetal development and maintenance of pregnancy. Here we present demographics and pilot data from our ongoing ‘‘Plasma Pregnancy Proteome’’ study to identify (a) preclinical biomarkers for adverse outcomes such as PROM and preeclampsia and (b) proteins reflecting changes in fetal and maternal physiology during development. STUDY DESIGN: Plasma is collected prospectively from 300 primagravid pregnancies at five time points for a longitudinal proteomic comparison during normal and complicated pregnancies. Unfractionated plasma from 7 patients at post-conception weeks 4-10, 10-12, 16-22, 26-28 and 36-38 was profiled by SELDI-TOF MS using (1) hydrophobic (H50), (2) strong anion exchange (Q10) and (3) copper-binding (IMAC) chromatographic surfaces. RESULTS: To date, we have enrolled 100 women from ethnically diverse backgrounds, including representative instances of preterm labor, preeclampsia, first and second trimester miscarriage and chorioamnionitis. In the pilot study we used SELDI-TOF MS to identify 127, 18 and 64 unique protein peaks on the H50, Q10 and IMAC surfaces, respectively, which were present in plasma from all women. Of these, 54, 18 and 40 proteins were modulated significantly (p!0.05) as a function of gestational age. In particular, one protein (w8250Da) increased O5-fold (R2=0.96, figure) on all surfaces examined. We are currently targeting a subset of proteins for identification and validation.
"Cooperative security": a model for the new enterprise

Enterprise security solutions no longer come "one-size-fits-all." The prospect of universal and virtually free connectivity via the Internet is driving a profound change in the business requirements for any enterprise-wide security architecture. The authors introduce the concept of "cooperative" security-an amalgam of shared and public key systems-and its application in the design of Windows NT 5. The core principle behind this new way of looking at security is that clients, servers, and administrators must adapt and play different roles in the evaluation of trust decisions based on changing security contexts.
A fully regenerative, high power testing facility for motors, drives and generators

This paper describes the design configuration of a fully regenerative laboratory that combines modern technologies to provide a highly flexible and adaptable test platform and dynamometer. The laboratory can test motors, drives and generators in both conventional steady-state and dynamic modes and can provide locked-rotor conditions by electrical rather than mechanical means. In order to achieve appropriate accuracies, several sets of transducers are employed. The regenerative design indicates that the electrical service to the laboratory only needs to supply the inherent losses of the motor system under test and the dynamometer.
Immediate and longer term impact of the varicella shortage on children 18 and 24 months of age in a community population

Little is known about the impact of the recent varicella vaccine shortage. To assess the temporal trend in varicella vaccine administration before 18 and 24 months of age in a community cohort of children prior to, during and after the recent varicella vaccine shortage. And to compare the temporal trends in varicella vaccinations to trends of an older, more widely accepted vaccine, the MMR. Community population-based birth cohorts were identified who were eligible for the varicella vaccination before, during and after the 2001 to 2002 varicella vaccine shortage. Only children (84% of all) who remained in the community through their second birthday were included. For each child in the cohort, the medical records and immunization registry records from both medical facilities in the county were reviewed to identify the dates and sites for all varicella immunizations given. In addition to varicella immunizations, the dates of all MMR vaccinations were recorded. Additional data abstracted included the child's birth date, gender and dates of any recognized cases of chickenpox up through age 24 months. Of the 2,512 children in the birth cohorts, 50.8% were boys. In the three cohorts combined, 81.1% of the boys and 79.3% of the girls (p = 0.30) received the varicella vaccine by age 24 months. The pre-shortage community rate of varicella immunization was 79.7% by 24 months of age. During the varicella vaccine shortage, the rate of varicella immunization by 24 months fell to 77.2%. Only 6 additional children received a "catch-up" immunization by 36 months of age. In the post shortage period the community 24-month immunization rate rebounded to a level higher than the pre-shortage rate 84.0%. During the almost three years of observation, the MMR immunization rate by age 24 months was constant (87%). The varicella shortage was associated with an immediate drop in the 24-month varicella immunizations rate but rebounded quickly to above pre-shortage rates. In this community the only long term impact of the varicella vaccine shortage may be on the small number of children who still had not received catch-up varicella immunizations by 36 months of age.
Welcome to Holland: Characteristics of Resilient Families Raising Children with Severe Disabilities

This descriptive study sought to examine the resiliency factors families developed when faced with the challenges of raising a child manifesting a severe disability. The study compared and contrasted how families managed the additional responsibility and stress of raising a child with special needs. The study aimed to identify the key characteristics present in resilient families allowing them to not just survive but thrive, becoming in the process strengthened and resourceful. The study found that there is a relationship between resilience and level of socio-economic status (SES). The study also found that having the time and the ability to reflect was a key to reconfiguration, which is seen as crucial in the development of resilience. Once afforded this type of time, the families reconstructed their vision of family, of disability and their child. Lastly, the study found that the development of resiliency was enhanced by the development of rhythm in the family. Rhythm is defined in this study as the establishment of consistent rules, rituals and routines.
In situ-Measured Primary Production in Lake Superior

ABSTRACT Water column primary production is a major term in the organic carbon cycle, particularly in large lakes with relatively reduced shoreline and near-shore influence. Presently, there is a large imbalance in the known inputs vs. outputs of organic carbon in Lake Superior. This study examined primary production in offshore Lake Superior using in situ incubations over a range of conditions representing an annual cycle. Primary producers were dominated by small (<20 µm) cells and included a relatively large abundance of small, spherical flagellates. During conditions with a warm surface layer, chlorophyll concentrations were two- to three-fold higher within the deep chlorophyll maximum (DCM) than at the surface. Volumetric production (mass L-1 d-1) was maximal at 2–10 m depth, well above the typical DCM depth. On average, 22% of 14C label appeared in the dissolved pool at the end of the incubation period with the rest appearing in GF/F-strained particles. A statistical model for volumetric production ...
Metabolism of Beclomethasone Dipropionate by Cytochrome P450 3A Enzymes

Inhaled glucocorticoids, such as beclomethasone dipropionate (BDP), are the mainstay treatment of asthma. However, ∼30% of patients exhibit little to no benefit from treatment. It has been postulated that glucocorticoid resistance, or insensitivity, is attributable to individual differences in glucocorticoid receptor-mediated processes. It is possible that variations in cytochrome P450 3A enzyme-mediated metabolism of BDP may contribute to this phenomenon. This hypothesis was explored by evaluating the contributions of CYP3A4, 3A5, 3A7, and esterase enzymes in the metabolism of BDP in vitro and relating metabolism to changes in CYP3A enzyme mRNA expression via the glucocorticoid receptor in lung and liver cells. CYP3A4 and CYP3A5 metabolized BDP via hydroxylation ([M4] and [M6]) and dehydrogenation ([M5]) at similar rates; CYP3A7 did not metabolize BDP. A new metabolite [M6], formed by the combined action of esterases and CYP3A4 hydroxylation, was also characterized. To validate the results observed using microsomes and recombinant enzymes, studies were also conducted using A549 lung and DPX2 liver cells. Both liver and lung cells produced esterase-dependent metabolites [M1–M3], with [M1] correlating with CYP3A5 mRNA induction in A549 cells. Liver cells produced both hydroxylated and dehydrogenated metabolites [M4, M5, and M6], but lung cells produced only the dehydrogenated metabolite [M5]. These studies show that CYP3A4 and CYP3A5 metabolize BDP to inactive metabolites and suggest that differences in the expression or function of these enzymes in the lung and/or liver could influence BDP disposition in humans.
Motor control and learning in altered dynamic environments

Dynamic perturbations of reaching movements are an important technique for studying motor learning and adaptation. Adaptation to non-contacting, velocity-dependent inertial Coriolis forces generated by arm movements during passive body rotation is very rapid, and when complete the Coriolis forces are no longer sensed. Adaptation to velocity-dependent forces delivered by a robotic manipulandum takes longer and the perturbations continue to be perceived even when adaptation is complete. These differences reflect adaptive self-calibration of motor control versus learning the behavior of an external object or ‘tool’. Velocity-dependent inertial Coriolis forces also arise in everyday behavior during voluntary turn and reach movements but because of anticipatory feedforward motor compensations do not affect movement accuracy despite being larger than the velocity-dependent forces typically used in experimental studies. Progress has been made in understanding: the common features that determine adaptive responses to velocity-dependent perturbations of jaw and limb movements; the transfer of adaptation to mechanical perturbations across different contact sites on a limb; and the parcellation and separate representation of the static and dynamic components of multiforce perturbations.
Central Nervous System Pneumocystosis in a Patient with AIDS

Extrapulmonary involvement with Pneumocystis carinii has been described in 0.5%-2.5% of persons with AIDS. One hundred nine patients with AIDS and confirmed extrapulmonary pneumocystosis were identified, and seven of these patients (including our patients) had central nervous system (CNS) pneumocystosis. Of these seven patients, six had prior AIDS-related complications, and three had previous P. carinii pneumonia. Six patients had CNS symptoms, one of whom underwent a focal neurological examination. No cases were diagnosed before death. The involved sites were the cerebral cortex (2 patients), meninges (2), pituitary gland (1), putamen (1), and nonspecified locations (3). In two patients, organisms were seen around blood vessels, and in five patients there was concurrent neuropathology. In summary, CNS involvement with P. carinii usually occurs as a late complication of AIDS and probably represents hematogenous dissemination.
Three-Dimensional Analysis of CD6 Site-Directed Mutagenesis and Monoclonal Antibody Binding Studies Using the X-ray Structure of Mac-2 Binding Protein and a Molecular Model of the CD6 Ligand Binding Domain

The extracellular region of CD6 consists of three scavenger receptor cysteine-rich (SRCR) domains and binds activated leukocyte cell adhesion molecule (ALCAM), a member of the immunoglobulin superfamily (IgSF). Residues important for the CD6-ALCAM interaction have previously been identified by mutagenesis. A total of 22 CD6 residues were classified according to their importance for anti-CD6 monoclonal antibody (mAb) and/or ALCAM binding. The three-dimensional structure of the SRCR domain of Mac-2 binding protein has recently been determined, providing a structural prototype for the SRCR protein superfamily. This has made a thorough three-dimensional analysis of CD6 mutagenesis and mAb binding experiments possible. Mutation of buried residues compromised both mAb and ALCAM binding, consistent with the presence of structural perturbations. However, several residues whose mutation affected both mAb and ALCAM binding or, alternatively, only ligand binding were found to map to the surface in the same region of the domain. This suggests that the CD6 ligand binding site and epitopes of tested mAbs overlap and provides an explanation for the finding that these mAbs effectively block ALCAM binding. An approximate molecular model of CD6 was used to delineate the ALCAM binding site.
Clinical risk prediction with multilinear sparse logistic regression

Logistic regression is one core predictive modeling technique that has been used extensively in health and biomedical problems. Recently a lot of research has been focusing on enforcing sparsity on the learned model to enhance its effectiveness and interpretability, which results in sparse logistic regression model. However, no matter the original or sparse logistic regression, they require the inputs to be in vector form. This limits the applicability of logistic regression in the problems when the data cannot be naturally represented vectors (e.g., functional magnetic resonance imaging and electroencephalography signals). To handle the cases when the data are in the form of multi-dimensional arrays, we propose MulSLR: Multilinear Sparse Logistic Regression. MulSLR can be viewed as a high order extension of sparse logistic regression. Instead of solving one classification vector as in conventional logistic regression, we solve for K classification vectors in MulSLR (K is the number of modes in the data). We propose a block proximal descent approach to solve the problem and prove its convergence. The convergence rate of the proposed algorithm is also analyzed. Finally we validate the efficiency and effectiveness of MulSLR on predicting the onset risk of patients with Alzheimer's disease and heart failure.
Artificial potentials with elliptical isopotential contours for obstacle avoidance

Previous use of artificial potentials has demonstrated the need for an obstacle avoidance potential that closely models the obstacle, yet does not generate local minima in the workspace of the manipulator. However, none of the artificial potential functions proposed to date satisfy this criterion. In this paper we present a new obstacle avoidance potential, based on modified ellipses, that prevents the formation of local minima when added to spherically symmetric attractive wells. A modified form of this elliptical potential provides safe approach towards objects. We have implemented our potentials in a simulation and the results exhibit an improvement over existing potential schemes. The simulation also employs an algorithm that eliminates collisions with obstacles by calculating the repulsive forces exerted on links, based on the shortest distance to an object.
Effect of omega-3 fatty acids, docosahexaenoic and eicosapentaenoic, on norepinephrine-induced contractions.

The relaxant responses of the rat thoracic aorta to omega-3 fatty acids, docosahexaenoic and eicosapentaenoic, on norepinephrine- and potassium-induced contractions were investigated. Relaxation was enhanced in vessels contracted with norepinephrine. Docosahexaenoic acid at concentrations as low as 1, 3, and 10 microM evoked significant relaxant responses (15, 23, 30%) in norepinephrine-contracted vessels as compared with responses (5, 9, 12%) in potassium-contracted vessels. Results for eicosapentaenoic acid under similar conditions were 3, 8, and 19% in norepinephrine-contracted vessels and 3, 3, and 8% in potassium-contracted vessels. Pretreatment with eicosapentaenoic (10 microM) or docosahexaenoic acids (1-10 microM) decreased the contractile response to physiologic concentrations of norepinephrine. In the presence of calcium-free medium, the omega-3 fatty acids (1-30 microM) significantly abolished sustained norepinephrine contractions but did not reduce the phasic contractions when incubated prior to norepinephrine contraction. Comparatively, the effects of docosahexaenoic acid were greater than eicosapentaenoic acid. These findings suggest that the relaxant effects of the omega-3 fatty acids are specific to the mode of contraction, i.e., alpha-adrenoceptor stimuli. This effect may be related to intracellular calcium mechanisms, since both fatty acids reversed norepinephrine-induced sustained contractions in the absence of extracellular calcium.
Mapping regulations to industry-specific taxonomies

For each industry, there exist many taxonomies that are intended for various applications. There are also multiple sources of regulations from different government agencies. Industry practitioners, unlike legal practitioners, are familiar with one or more industry-specific taxonomies but not necessarily regulatory organization systems. To help browsing of regulations by industry practitioners, we propose to map regulations to existing industry-specific taxonomies.A mapping from a single taxonomy to a single regulation is a trivial keyword matching task. From there, we examine techniques to map a single taxonomy to multiple regulations, as well as to map multiple taxonomies to a single regulation. Cosine similarity, Jaccard coefficient and market-basket analysis are tested to model the similarity metric between concepts from different taxonomies. Preliminary evaluations of the three metrics are performed. Examples from the building industry are drawn to illustrate the betterment of regulatory usage from the mapping between various taxonomies and regulations.
The optical rotary dispersion and circular dichroism of α-amino and α-hydroxy acids☆

Abstract The weak negative long-wavelength (230–245 nm) CD maxima in α-amino- and α-hydroxy acids of the S-configuration (in addition to the known strong positive CD maximum in the 210–215 nm region) is shown not to be caused by hydrogen bonding effects. It is related to the nucleophilic character of the heteroatom attached to the asymmetric center, and is suggested to be due to the existence of two conformers, in one of which coupling of the non-bonding orbital of the heteroatom with the chromophoric transition of the carbonyl may occur.
Cultural Influences on Visual Scanning Patterns

Visual scanning studies involving more than one cultural group have demonstrated differences in scanning behavior. These studies have all used recall to test for scanning patterns. Eye movement research, which directly records scanning behavior, has traditionally employed Western subjects. The present experiment used eye movement photography to study cultural influences on visual scanning patterns. Thirty adult subjects were tested, representing the Western, Middle Eastern, and East Asian cultures. Data on location of fixations and direction of saccades (horizontal or vertical and right to left or left to right) were collected. No significant differences were found for location of fixations. Data on the direction of saccades revealed significant differences, all of which reflected the reading habits of the different cultures. These data corroborated the results of previous cross-cultural studies.
Exclusive Contracts and the Institution of Bankruptcy

This paper studies the institution of bankruptcy when exclusive contracts cannot be enforced ex ante, e.g., a bank cannot monitor whether the borrower enters into contracts with other creditors. The institution of bankruptcy enables the bank to enforce its claim to any funds that the borrower has above a fixed "bankruptcy protection" level. Bankruptcy mproves on non-exclusive contractual relationships but is not a perfect substitute for exclusivity ex ante. We characterize the effect of bankruptcy provisions on the equilibrium contracts which borrowers use to raise financing.