cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Economic Benefits Of Medical Nutrition Therapy In Non-insulin-dependent Diabetes Mellitus

Abstract Published cost-benefit analyses have shown nutrition intervention reduces health care costs. In this retrospective study, cost-benefit analysis was completed for 19 hospital outpatients with non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus. The group had a total of 102 (per patient range, 3-16) individual/family consults with a dietitian. Monetary savings resulted from reduced or discontinued medication, reduced food costs because of lower calorie intake associated with weight loss, and/or avoiding use of oral hypoglycemic agents or insulin/ syringes. Food savings were figured conservatively as $0.72/yr/lb. body weight loss. Costs were calculated for insulin as $0.015/unit at a dose of 0.75 units/kg/day, for syringes as $0.17/day, and for oral medication. Dietitians' charges totalled $ 1290. Patients adhering to recommendations saved $153 for food, $924 for reduced/discontinued medications, $3770 for avoiding insulin and syringes, and $997 for avoiding oral hypoglycemic agents. Economic benefit of medical nutrition therapy was $4554 after 1 year, or $240 per patient. Positive health outcomes included weight loss; decreased blood sugars, hemoglobin Alc, lipid levels, and intake of sugars and fats; and increased consumption of fruits, vegetables, exercise levels, and feelings of well-being. These findings suggest that substantial monetary savings and improved quality of life can be achieved by medical nutrition therapy.
VIBRATIONAL CHARACTERISTICS OF SOIL DEPOSITS WITH VARIABLE WAVE VELOCITY

SUMMARY The paper studies certain dynamic characteristics of soil deposits with wave velocities increasing with depth according to (l+pz)'", where m = 1, 2/3, 1/2, 1/4 and 0. Analytical solutions are presented for the fundamental periods, mode shapes and amplification functions due to vertically propagating shear waves and the effects of type (m) and rate (p) of heterogeneity are systematically investigated. Then analyticalnumerical techniques are used to study the attenuation with depth in a deposit of the vertical and horizontal displacements due to travelling of Rayleigh waves. Differences attributed to different heterogeneities are discussed in connection with the machine isolation problem and the steady-state vibration technique for soil exploration. Finally, the dependence on soil heterogeneity of the time-distance response curves, obtained during seismic refraction surveys, is graphically illustrated.
Evaluation of the Chronic Disease Self-Management Program With Low-Income, Urban, African American Older Adults

A 1-group pretest–posttest design to assess for changes in outcomes at 10 weeks and 6 months was the method used to evaluate the standardized 6-session Chronic Disease Self Management Program (CDSMP) with low income, urban African American older adults. Participants included 153 older adults (primarily African American) with 1 or more chronic health conditions. Classes were provided in the community at senior citizen centers, senior housing, and churches. Significant improvements were noted in selected areas at 10 weeks and 6 months after the program completion. The CDSMP was feasible and well-received with the older adults who participated in the study. This study was funded by The Barra Foundation, Inc., Wyndmoor, Pennsylvania.
Abstract B29: Improving the identification of beneficial mimotopes using a representative tumor-specific T cell receptor.

Vaccination with peptide mimotopes is a promising strategy to improve antitumor immunity. Mimotopes function by eliciting increased numbers of T cells that cross-react with the native tumor antigen. Using a high affinity tumor-specific T cell clone (CT), we have identified a panel of mimotopes for the dominant antigen (AH1) of a mouse colon tumor cell-line (CT26) that elicits a range of tumor protection when used in vaccines. Ex vivo evaluation of the TCRs of T cells initiated by mimotopes that protect against tumor challenge revealed increased representation of a Vβ8.3/Jβ2.6 motif: a small hydrophobic amino acid, followed by a large polar residue, and the tyrosine of the Jβ2.6. Clonotypes with this motif were also identified within the AH1-specific T cell repertoire of naturally responding TIL and following vaccination with the AH1 antigen. This motif was not found in the original CT clone. One particular clone with the motif made up nearly 8.5% of all Vβ8.3 sequences identified following immunization with mimotopes. Thus, we tested the hypothesis that this ‘representative’ TCR improves the frequency of discovery of efficacious mimotopes for cancer immunotherapy relative to the high affinity CT clone in the CT26 model. We have demonstrated that this is the case by screening genetically encoded peptide libraries. These results have important implications when considering the optimal T cells responding to tumor antigens and the improved identification of mimotopes for cancer immunotherapy. Citation Format: Jill E. Slansky, Jonathan D. Buhrman. Improving the identification of beneficial mimotopes using a representative tumor-specific T cell receptor. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the AACR Special Conference on Tumor Immunology: Multidisciplinary Science Driving Basic and Clinical Advances; Dec 2-5, 2012; Miami, FL. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2013;73(1 Suppl):Abstract nr B29.
Slope method for determining extinction coefficients

A method is presented for obtaining the extinction coefficient, k, of an absorbing medium from critical-angle measurements. The maximum value of the slope of the reflectance vs angle of incidence curve is very sensitive to k and relatively insensitive to the refractive index, n, the polarization, P, and to surface imperfections. Theoretical curves are presented relating the magnitude of this maximum slope to k for constant values of n and P. In practice, the accuracy obtainable is limited by problems of normalization of the measured reflectance.
A Simplification of the Matrix Beta Distribution for Combining Estimators

The problem of estimating a simplex of weights with a direct probabilistic interpretation for combining a set of estimators, either forecasts or expert opinions on an uncertain quantity, is approached via the outperformance construct. Thus, each weight represents the probability that its estimator will perform best. These outperformance probability weights are derived from a generalization of the beta distribution, i.e. the Matrix Beta. A simplified procedure for estimating the outperformance probability weights from this distribution is presented.
On the effects of the Hadley circulation and westerly equatorial flow on planetary-wave reflection

The nonlinear behaviour of quasi-stationary planetary waves that are excited by mid-latitude orographic forcing is considered in a global shallow-water model taken to represent the upper troposphere. The waves propagate toward low latitudes where the background flow is normally weak and the waves are therefore likely to break. Nonlinear pseudomomentum conservation relations are used to quantify the absorption-reflection behaviour of the wave-breaking region. Two different flow scenarios are represented: (i) initial states without a representation of the Hadley circulation, but where the axisymmetric equatorial background flow changes from being weak and easterly to moderate westerly; (ii) initial states that include a representation of the Hadley circulation and that have weak equatorial easterlies. Based on linear arguments, both (i) and (ii) are expected to influence the progression of the wave train. The nonlinear behaviour in the presence of low-latitude westerly background flows is different from linear predictions. For large-amplitude forcing, wave breaking takes place even though there is no zero-wind line in the initial state, and the cross-equatorial wave propagation that took place for small-amplitude forcing is stopped before it can reach the equator. Nonlinear reflection is found to take place back into the hemisphere of origin but not across to the other hemisphere. In the presence of a Hadley circulation representative of winter conditions, the nonlinear reflection takes longer to get established, i.e. it requires more forcing, but a reflected wave train is still present in the numerical simulations, both for a longitudinally symmetric forcing and for the more realistic case of an isolated forcing. A summer Hadley circulation allows wave activity to get to the winter hemisphere. As the forcing is increased, wave breaking occurs and eventually nonlinear reflection.
Structural characterization of low energy Auger electron and photoelectron scattering.

The angle-resolved electron intensity patterns of low energy Auger electrons and photoelectrons are calculated using a quantum mechanical electron scattering formalism with the inclusion of appropriate electron angular momentum. Calculations indicate that scattering of high angular momentum and low energy electrons exhibit miinima in the forward direction whereas low angular momenta or high energy electrons exhibit maxima, as is experimentally observed. Comparison of experimental and theoretical patterns allows for detailed structural characterizations.
Bioactive phospholipid signaling influences NHE3-dependent intestinal Na+ and fluid absorption: a macromolecular complex perspective. Focus on “Lysophosphatidic acid 5 receptor induces activation of Na+/H+ exchanger 3 via apical epidermal growth factor receptor in intestinal epithelial cells”

malabsorption of solutes and water in the small intestine may result in large amounts of fluid entering the colon that will overwhelm its absorptive capacity and cause diarrhea. Most of the absorption in the gastrointestinal (GI) tract occurs in the small intestine ([4][1]), which, anatomically,
Synthesis of highly porous borazine-linked polymers and their application to H2, CO2, and CH4 storage

The synthesis of highly porous borazine-linked polymers (BLPs) and their gas uptakes are reported. BLPs exhibit high surface areas up to 2866 m2 g−1 and can store significant amounts of H2 (1.93 wt%) and CO2 (12.8 wt%) at 77 K and 273 K, respectively at 1.0 bar with respective isosteric heats of adsorption of 6.0 and 25.2 kJ mol−1.
Automated extraction of symmetric microstructure features in serial sectioning images

Abstract Serial sectioning methods continue to produce a wealth of image data for quantifying the three-dimensional nature of material microstructures. In this work, we discuss a computational methodology for automated detection and 3D characterization of dendrite cores from images taken from slices of a production turbine blade made of a heat-treated single crystal Ni-based superalloy. The dendrite core locations are detected using an automated segmentation technique that incorporates information over multiple length scales and exploits the four-fold symmetry of the dendrites when viewed down the 〈100〉 growth direction. Additional rules that take advantage of the continuity of the dendrites from slice to slice help to exclude segmentation artifacts and improve dendrite core segmentation. The significance of this technique is that it may be extended to include any symmetric features.
Tropical Diseases of the Urinary Tract

ANY WIDESPREAD TROPICAL DISEASES such as malaria, yaws, and cholera do not involve the urinary tract except in a very secondary fashion and do not merit consideration in this paper. However, there are diseases that commonly involve the kidneys, ureter, and bladder. The most frequent of these is infection with Schistosomo haematobium. Others requiring consideration are filariasis and the relatively rare hydatid disease of the kidney. GENITOURINARY SCHISTOSOMIASIS Genitourinary schistosomiasis does not occur naturally in the Western Hemisphere. When it does occur, it is in patients who have resided in endemic areas: South, Central, and North Africa. It is particularly common in Egypt and occurs in parts of Israel, southern Turkey, northern Syria, Iran, Iraq, and Cyprus. It has been reported in southern Portgual and in the Bombay State area of India. Pathogenesis and Life Cycle The disease was thought to be caused by parasitic infestation with S. haemutobium; however, recent work suggests that it is not due to one species, but to a group of them.1 Different Schistosoma species have varying geographic distribution and produce different clinical manifestations in the urinary tract. For instance, in Rhodesia where the prevalent species is S. capense, urinary obstruction from fibrosis of the bladder neck is rare and Schistosoma eggs have not been recovered in biopsy material from the testis and epididymis. In Egypt, where bladder neck fibrosis and ova in the genital tract are both common, the offending species is S. haematobium. The Schistosoma has a complicated life cycle. In the case of genitourinary schistosomiasis, the ova are deposited by the female worm in the bladder wall and ulcerate through it to be voided with the urine. These ova mature in water into miracidia which enter a species of snail, Bulinus. In the liver of the snail, they mature into cercaria which are then shed from the snail. The parasite invades man either in drinking water, or during bathing through small abrasions on the skin. It enters the systemic venous circulation, passing from the right heart through the lungs to the left heart. It then enters the systemic circulation and, after a varying period in the liver, enters the portal circulation and passes to the vesical and pelvic venous plexuses where the female deposits her eggs.
Building a foundation for bioenergetics

To give students a lasting comprehension of bioenergetics, first such basics as heat, work, equilibrium, entropy, free energy, closed versus open systems, steady state, and reversibility should be explained to them in a meticulous manner, albeit with a minimal use of mathematical formulae. The unique feature of thermodynamics, that it does not require any structural, mechanistic, and kinetic assumptions and models about the microscopic nature of the matter, should be exploited. Its laws could be considered as given, reflecting simply empirical observations that science has found unassailable so far. The familiarization of the students with the basic concepts should rely more on problem solving exercises than on the molecular mechanistic explanations. Only at a later phase should structural molecular inferences be made and (if justified) more rigorous mathematical derivations given. When the students are later confronted with the seemingly complex energetics of biological processes the idea of a steady-state reaction should be stressed. Even without nonequilibrium thermodynamics a wealth of useful information can be deduced from this simple model of metabolic reactions. Because biological processes are typically homeostatic and progress at de facto constant temperature and pressure, using the steady-state assumption, their thermodynamic treatment can be surprisingly straight forward. Thus the conceptual role of the steady-state model in bioenergetics might be viewed as similar in pedagogical significance to the ideal gas model of basic chemistry.
Age at Start as a Correlate of Intervention Effectiveness.

This investigation examined the “earlier one starts an intervention, the better” hypothesis for handicapped preschoolers. Posttest performances of handicapped preschoolers on the Bayley Mental Development Index (MDI) and the Bayley Psychomotor Development Index (PDI) were evaluated in relation to the age at which the intervention began, the length of intervention, and Bayley pretest scores. Results indicated that age at start and length of treatment bore little relation to treatment outcomes. However, Bayley pretest scores correlated moderately with posttest scores. Possible explanations are discussed.
Breaking bad news in the breast imaging setting.

Rationale and Objectives The aim of this study was to investigate the experience and desire for training breast imagers in discussing “bad news” with their patients. No such information has been previously reported. Materials and Methods Following University of Michigan (UM) institutional review board approval and approval from the Society of Breast Imaging (SBI), questionnaires were mailed to current UM breast imaging faculty members, fellows, and residents and to SBI fellows. The final questionnaire page was mistakenly omitted in the SBI mailing. After institutional review board approval, the final page was sent to the SBI fellows. Results The response rates were 65% (61 of 94) for SBI fellows and 65% (13 of 20) for UM physicians. Ninety-five percent of respondents were aged ≥ 40 years. Sixty-two percent of UM physicians were women, compared to 52% of SBI fellows. Sixty-four percent of respondents practiced in university settings and 34% in private settings. Thirty-five percent of respondents had breast imaging fellowships. The frequency of delivering bad news was most often weekly or daily, whether the news was a need for extra views, a biopsy recommendation, or positive core biopsy results. Recommendations for extra views and breast biopsies were reported to be usually given in person, whereas 59% of respondents delivered positive biopsy results by telephone. Eighty-five percent of respondents noted no previous training in delivering bad news. On a comfort scale ranging from 1 (very uncomfortable) to 10 (very comfortable), 95% of respondents rated their comfort at 8 to 10 for recommending extra views, 85% had the same comfort level for recommending biopsies, and 67% had the same level for giving positive biopsy results. Sixty-two percent of UM radiologists expressed interest in obtaining further training in how to deliver bad news, whereas only 32% of SBI fellows were desirous of such training. Conclusion Although radiologists commonly delivered bad news in the breast imaging setting, very few had training in how to do so. Comfort levels declined as the severity of news increased, yet a majority of respondents were not interested in obtaining training in how to deliver bad news. These findings raise the need for further study.
CFD code validation for nozzle flowfields

Renewed interest in hypersonic airbreathing flight has resulted in heavy reliance on computational fluid dynamics for all aspects of aerodynamic and scramjet component modeling. Credible numerical performance predictions require calibration to unit type flowfields. This paper presents results of one such calibration to nonreacting simulated scramjet nozzle flowfields. The experimental test program was performed on a static thrust stand. Computed results are in excellent agreement with measured wall pressure, pitot pressure profiles, and thrust. Agreement with thrust is shown to be within the reported accuracy of the experimental measurements.
Bringing the genomic landscape of small-cell lung cancer into focus

Genomic characterization efforts in small-cell lung cancer have been complicated by the paucity of high-quality surgical resection specimens for this aggressive lung cancer subtype that is usually diagnosed at unresectable stages in small biopsies or cytology specimens. Now, two papers report genomic analyses of small-cell lung cancer, highlighting subsets of tumors driven by amplification of FGFR1, SOX2 or MYC family members or by a MYCL1 fusion oncogene, among many other recurrent alterations.
Technical Tips for Stoma Creation in the Challenging Patient

Stoma creation is a mental and technical exercise, often straightforward without any difficulty. However, creation of a protruding, tension free, well-vascularized stoma in an obese individual with a thick abdominal wall and short, thickened mesentery can be a substantial challenge. Preoperative planning including stoma site marking, thoughtful consideration of all alternatives, and attention to technical detail will help create a stoma that will serve the ostomate well. The technical tips provided in this article should facilitate the process of selecting the appropriate intestinal segment, identifying the correct stoma site, and creating a functional stoma even in the most challenging situations.
Infertility in Men with Spinal Cord Injury: Research and Treatment

Spinal cord injury (SCI) occurs most often to young men. Following SCI, most men are infertile due to a combination of erectile dysfunction, ejaculatory dysfunction and semen abnormalities. Erectile dysfunction may be treated by the same therapies that are used in the general population. Similarly, the same treatments that are effective to assist conception in couples with non-SCI male factor patients are effective in assisting conception in SCI male-factor patients. The most apparent differences in male-factor symptoms between SCI and non-SCI patients are the high occurrences of anejaculation and atypical semen profiles in men with SCI. Methods available to assist ejaculation in men with SCI include penile vibratory stimulation and EEJ. Use of surgical sperm retrieval as the first line of treatment for anejaculation in men with SCI is controversial. Most men with SCI have a unique semen profile characterized by normal sperm concentration, but abnormally low sperm motility. Toxic substances in the semen contribute to this problem. Despite impaired sperm parameters, pregnancy outcomes using sperm from men with SCI are similar to pregnancy outcomes using sperm from non-SCI men. Future studies should focus on improving natural ejaculation and improving semen quality in these men.
Low-power, single-interface guided waves mediated by high-power nonlinear guided waves: TE case

The dispersion relation for a low-power (probe) TE-polarized wave guided by an interface between a linear and nonlinear medium was derived and investigated numerically as a function of the power of a high-power (pump), TE-polarized nonlinear wave guided by the same interface. The birefringence induced by a Kerr-type nonlinearity leads to a difference between the dispersion relations for pump and probe beams propagating at right angles to each another.
Inhibition of neutrophil superoxide production by adenosine released from vascular endothelial cells.

To investigate the inhibitory effect of adenosine released by endothelium on neutrophil Superoxide (O 2 −) production, we treated confluent monolayers of cultured human umbilical vein endothelial cells with the enzyme adenosine deaminase, and then added human neutrophils. Superoxide (O2 −) production by human neutrophils stimulated with 10−6 M formyl-methionyl-leucyl-phenylalanine was inhibited by 49% in the presence of a confluent monolayer of human umbilical vein endothelial cells (5.1 ± 0.1 versus 2.6 ± 0.3 nmols O2 −/106 neutrophils). Addition of 0.25 U/ml adenosine deaminase to neutrophils plus endothelial cells restored formyl-methionyl-leucyl-phenylalanine-stimulated neutrophil Superoxide production to the level seen with neutrophils alone. Deoxycoformycin (10−4 M), an inhibitor of adenosine deaminase activity, prevented the increase in Superoxide production associated with adenosine deaminase addition. The adenosine analogue 5′-(N-ethylcarboxamido)-adenosine (3 × 10−4 M) caused increased inhibition of formyl-methionyl-leucylphenylalanine-stimulated superoxide release by neutrophils in the presence of endothelial cells and prevented neutrophil-mediated endothelial cell damage, as measured by release of3H-2-deoxy-D-glucose. Pairing 2-chloroadenosine (10−5 M) or 5′-(N-ethylcarboxamido)-adenosine (3 × 10−4 M) with a cyclic adenosine monophosphate phosphodiesterase inhibitor, 3-isobutyl-l-methyl-xanthine (10−4 M), produced greater inhibition of neutrophil superoxide production than occurred with either compound alone. The results support the hypothesis that vascular endothelial cells protect themselves from neutrophil attack by releasing adenosine to inhibit superoxide production.
An Empirical Analysis of the Internationalization‐Performance Relationship Across Emerging Market Firms

This study tests for the relationship between internationalization and performance in the emerging market context using a sample of 719 firms from 12 emerging markets. This study also incorporates the quality of governance in the emerging market studied to test for the interactive influence of the environmental context on the internationalization performance relationship. Findings indicate support for an inverted U‐shaped relationship between internationalization and performance for manufacturing firms and a positive linear relationship for service firms. In explaining the relationship between internationalization and performance, the quality of governance of the home country of the firm was found to interact with internationalization.
Cereal leaf beetle: feeding and oviposition on winter wheat and spring oats.

The relationship of cereal leaf beetle, Oulema melanopus (L.), feeding and oviposition on wheat and oats was evaluated by using daily efficiency values, calculated by dividing the number of eggs deposited by the amount of food consumed per female. Field beetles had a greater efficiency on oats than wheat. Previous laboratory studies on ‘Lakeland’ barley seedlings found that beetles were most efficient shortly after the initiation of oviposition; but beetle feeding on oats began almost one month later than on wheat. When beetles were transferred from wheat to oats and back to wheat, a substantial increase in efficiency occurred while the beetles were on oats.
A conservative Sample size for the comparison of several proportions

In many experimental situations we need to test the hypothesis concerning the equality of parameters of two or more binomial populations. Of special interest is the knowledge of the sample sizes needed to detect certain differences among the parameters, for a specified power, and at a given level of significance. Al-Bayyati (1971) derived a rule of thumb for a quick calculation of the sample size needed to compare two binomial parameters. The rule is defined in terms of the difference desired to be detected between the two parameters. In this paper, we introduce a generalization of Al-Bayyatifs rule to several independent proportions. The generalized rule gives a conservative estimate of the sample size needed to achieve a specified power in detecting certain differences among the binomial parameters at a given level of significance. The method is illustrated with an example
A graphical method of analysis of sprinkled‐plat hydrographs

The data utilized in developing the following method of analyzing hydrographs of sprinkled plats was secured by an infiltration-study party of the Office of Research of the Soil Conservation Service, under the supervision of G. W. Musgrave. The work was done on the Concho River Watershed, near San Angelo, in West Texas, during the summer and fall of 1939. The data used are those from Type-F rainfall simulator-plats. This infiltrometer is the latest development of the Hydraulic Laboratory of the Soil Conservation Service. Plats were six feet wide and 12 feet long.
Demonstration of Host Discrimination in the Parasite Orgilus lepidus (Hymenoptera: Braconidae)

Both mated and virgin females of the braconid wasp Orgilus lepidus Muesebeck, a solitary endoparasite of the potato tuberworm, Phthorimaca operculella (Zeller), avoided already-parasitized host larvae. Host discrimination was evidenced by the nonrandom distribution of eggs among a number of initially healthy hosts and by a marked preference for healthy hosts exposed together with hosts parasitized earlier by conspecific females.
Comparisons of temperature response to solar forcing in the pre- and post periods of satellite data assimilation

On the basis of both composite and multiple linear regression analysis, three temperature datasets from two reanalyses and one set of satellite observations have been used to evaluate the different responses in the winter [December–February (DJF)] period as they relate to solar forcing between the pre- and post periods of satellite data assimilation. The two periods are defined as 1958–1978 when no satellite data was available to be assimilated and the 1979–2002 period when satellite data was assimilated in the operational forecast models. The solar forcing signal for the two periods can be identified as significant in the extremes of the solar cycle (maximum and minimum). The composite analysis shows that the solar response of the DJF temperatures in the three datasets shows large-scale similarities although there are differences over the southern middle-high latitudes and some tropical areas. The stratospheric response showed the strongest DJF temperature anomalies related to solar variability occurring over the Arctic, but its sign is negative in 1979–2002 and positive in 1958–1978 for solar maximum activity. The stratospheric temperature response can be confirmed using a multiple regression analysis. The temperature features may be partially explained by the impacts of heating via ozone absorption, and is reinforced by the solar cycle, El-Nino Southern Oscillation (ENSO), stratospheric quasi-biennial oscillation (QBO), volcanic eruptions and other factors. In contrast, the tropospheric response, with a dynamic wavelike structure, occurs over the middle latitudes. The tropospheric differences between the two periods are not clearly resolved and raise questions about the efficacy of the observations and our ability to use the observations effectively. Copyright © 2010 Royal Meteorological Society
Prokaryotic expression of bovine lactoferrin deletion mutants that bind to the Ca2+-dependent lactoferrin receptor on isolated rat hepatocytes.

We generated a series of recombinant variants of bovine lactoferrin (Lf) as fusion proteins using two prokaryotic expression vectors and examined the ability of the expressed proteins to compete with native Lf for binding to the Ca2+-dependent Lf receptor on isolated rat hepatocytes. A near-full-length bovine Lf cDNA (pN16b) was expressed in pGEMEX-2 as a gene 10 fusion protein (r-bLf10/-70). Deletions of pN16b were cloned into the HindIII/NotI and BamHI/NotI restriction sites of expression vector pET 32 and expressed as thioredoxin fusion proteins, r-bLfT/-271 and r-bLfT/-310, respectively. r-bLf10/-70, r-bLfT/-271, and r-bLfT/-310 lacked, respectively, the NH2-terminal 70, 271, and 310 amino acids of Lf. Expression of recombinant proteins in Escherichia coli BL21-DE3 strain was monitored by denaturing gel electrophoresis or by immunoblot with anti-Lf antibodies. The yield of each of the soluble recombinant proteins was approximately 10 mg/L of BL21-DE3 suspension. r-bLf10/-70 and r-bLfT/-271 competed strongly with 125I-Lf for binding to hepatocytes but r-bLfT/-310 did not. Our findings are consistent with the conclusion that Lf binds to its Ca2+-dependent receptor on hepatocytes via noncarbohydrate determinants contained within its C-lobe.
Planning as a Coping Response to Proposed Tourism Development

This case study explores the psychological concepts of stress and coping as experienced by residents of a host community. Stress can negatively affect communities and individuals in myriad ways, leading to community dysfunction, negative health outcomes, and psychological consequences. Successful coping actions can moderate the effects of stress on individuals and communities. Over the span of two years, the community of Sitka, Alaska, undertook two tourism planning processes in response to the proposed development of a cruise pier. Thematic analysis of 29 interviews of Sitka residents and tourism planning participants revealed that the tourism planning process was a form of community coping with the stress of proposed tourism development. Interviews also revealed that individuals engaged in coping to address stressors that manifested during each planning process. Understanding how residents of host communities respond to stresses brought about by tourism development is a step forward in understanding the...
Self organization of shear bands in stainless steel

The spatial distribution of shear bands was investigated in 304L stainless steel through the radial collapse of a thick-walled cylinder under high-strain-rate deformation (∼10 4 s −1 ). The shear-band initiation and propagation were also examined. Self-organization of multiple adiabatic shear bands was observed. The effect of grain size on spacing of shear bands was investigated at four different grain sizes: 30 m, 50m, 140m and 280m. A single crystal with a similar composition was also tested. The experimental results show only a modest variation of shear-band spacing within the investigated grain size range. Three principal mechanisms are considered to be active in initiation: (a) momentum diffusion by stress unloading, (b) perturbation in the stress/strain/temperature fields, (c) microstructural inhomogeneities. The observed shear-band spacing is compared with existing theories; Grady–Kipp and Wright–Ockendon–Molinari theories. These are one-dimensional theories that do not consider the evolution in spacing as the shear bands grow. A discontinuous growth mode for shear localization under periodic perturbation is applied and predicts spacings in good agreement with observations. Self-organized initiation and propagation modes are discussed in relation to the interaction among the nucleus and well-developed shear bands. © 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
High-Temperature Electrochemical Sensor for Online Corrosion Monitoring

Abstract Electrochemical sensors incorporating diamond-like carbon (DLC)-coated electrodes are effective tools for online, real-time corrosion monitoring at high temperatures. A vacuum-based chemical vapor deposition process was used to deposit a DLC thinfilm coating on the surface of the sensing electrodes. The chemical inertness of the DLC coating on the sensing electrodes produced a crevice-free electrode that can be used at temperatures above 100°C. In this paper, we present the coating deposition process for sensor electrodes and fabrication of coupled multielectrode array sensors (CMAS) for high-temperature, high-pressure applications. Probes were fabricated using uncoated and DLC-coated Alloy 22 (Ni-22Cr-13Mo-3Fe-3W [UNS N06022]) and titanium Grade 7 (Ti-0.2Pd [UNS R52400]) electrodes. The Alloy 22 probes were tested in high-temperature, high-pressure conditions in a pH 10 caustic solution. The measured nonuniform corrosion rate using the Alloy 22 probe with the DLC-coated electrodes was approximat...
OxLDL Triggers Retrograde Translocation of Arginase2 in Aortic Endothelial Cells via ROCK and Mitochondrial Processing Peptidase

Rationale:Increased arginase activity contributes to endothelial dysfunction by competition for l-arginine substrate and reciprocal regulation of nitric oxide synthase (NOS). The rapid increase in ...
An Unusual Cause of Chest Pain in a Young Healthy Female

Abstract Background Infection of the sternoclavicular joint is an uncommon disease that is usually seen in patients with underlying risk factors such as prior trauma, intravenous drug use, or diabetes mellitus. The true pathophysiology remains unknown, but underlying bacteremia has been found in a number of cases. Without proper diagnosis and treatment, severe complications such as mediastinitis, sepsis, or death can occur. Case Report This is a case of spontaneous stenoclavicular septic arthritis in an otherwise healthy female. The patient's lack of risk factors and minimal examination findings highlight the unusual nature of the case, as well as the challenges it presents in making an early diagnosis. Why Should an Emergency Physician Be Aware of this Condition? Emergency physicians should consider sternoclavicular joint infections in patients who present to the emergency department with chest pain, even in patients without risk factors. They should especially consider the diagnosis in patients with suspected musculoskeletal etiologies or in those with return visits for chest pain. Although most patients do well with treatment, the infection can be life threatening without appropriate interventions.
MEDICARE, RETIREMENT COSTS, AND LABOR SUPPLY AT OLDER AGES

When workers retire, they forego the wages and many of the benefits they received while employed. By providing subsidized health insurance coverage to virtually every American at age 65, Medicare reduces the cost of retiring for workers who receive health benefits from their employers, especially when those benefits do not continue after retirement. As a result, an increase in the age of Medicare eligibility may lead many workers to delay retirement. This paper examines how a potential increase in the age of Medicare eligibility might affect retirement behavior by relating the health insurance costs of retirement to labor supply decisions. The insurance cost of retirement is the increase in health insurance premiums that workers face after they retire, relative to what they pay when working. We measure the effect of insurance costs on labor force withdrawals by including the net present value of premium costs in a multivariate model of retirement. We then simulate the impact of changes in the Medicare eligibility age by re-computing premium costs under the assumption that individuals could not receive Medicare coverage until age 67. We find that health insurance costs significantly discourage retirement, and that an increase in the age of Medicare eligibility would reduce retirement rates.
Observations of flux motion in niobium films

A magnetic field trapped in a superconducting sphere was examined at temperatures from 4.6 K to 5.5 K. The sphere was the rotor of a precision gyroscope and was made of fused quartz and coated with a sputtered niobium film. The rotor diameter was 3.8 cm. The film thickness was 2.5 mu m. The tests were carried out at an ambient magnetic field of about 1 mG. Unexpected instability of the trapped field was observed. The experimental results and possible explanations are presented.
Measles Surveillance in the United States: An Overview

The elimination of endemic measles from the United States has been a national goal since the introduction of measles vaccine, and measles surveillance has been crucial to guide the elimination efforts. The United States surveillance system is geared towards detection of measles virus transmission, rapid discovery of measles outbreaks to facilitate outbreak control, and identification of risk factors for measles. The surveillance system is a passive reporting system that, when activated by a reported case of suspected measles, triggers a search for additional cases around the reported case. Cases are typically reported by health care providers or from schools and day care centers. The sensitivity of the system is increased through reporting and investigation of all suspected measles cases by means of an inclusive case definition (generalized maculopapular rash and fever), and the specificity is increased through laboratory testing for measles of all suspected cases.
Parallel dynamic switching of reasoning methods in a fuzzy system

Different fuzzy reasoning methods show different performance depending on the reasoning situation. The best fuzzy reasoning method is decided not only by the application task but also by the time variant reasoning situation. A dynamic switching fuzzy system (DSFS) is proposed which chooses the best performing combination of available fuzzy intersection operators and defuzzification methods according to the reasoning situation at that point in time. DSFS uses 80 different reasoning methods connected in parallel and the best performing one is dynamically chosen using a criterion of target prediction strategy involving fuzzy constraints and fuzzy goals. Comparisons in balancing a simulated inverted pendulum using a modern controller, several conventional fuzzy logic controllers (FLCs), and a DSFS FLC were carried out under different conditions such as normal, degraded rules, errors in scaling, windy conditions, etc. DSFS was found to have higher performance, better robustness, and better fault tolerance. >
Theoretical analysis of HEMT breakdown dependence on device design parameters

A two-dimensional numerical analysis is presented to investigate the breakdown characteristics of single- and double-channel AlGaAs/GaAs HEMTs. The influence of the doped layer thickness and the thickness of an undoped i-layer under the gate is analyzed. Impact ionization is considered to be the dominant breakdown mechanism. All simulations reveal the existence of a high electric field region near the gate contact. Breakdown occurs in the gate-drain region and the (breakdown) path which maximizes the ionization integral is entirely in the AlGaAs layer. For increased donor layer thickness, single-channel devices biased near pinchoff have gate-drain breakdown voltages varying from 8 to 14 V with corresponding peak electric field values in the range of 8.2*10/sup 5/ to 2.4*10/sup 6/ V/cm. The breakdown voltage increases with increasing gate bias mod V /sub gs/ mod due to a screening effect of transverse from longitudinal electric field. Double-channel HEMTs have slightly higher breakdown than single-channel, especially near pinchoff and for thin donor layers. >
Conceptions of Gay Male Life-Span Development: Past and Present

Abstract Four of Erikson's eight psychosocial crises were used in this qualitative, exploratory study as an organizing framework. Using a semi-structured questionnaire, seven men were interviewed with the goal of understanding how they have navigated Erikson's life stages. Significant results included: an early sense of being different and a period of time between “coming out to self” and “coming out to another person,” both complicating Erikson's sense of “social trust.” The men also described finding non-biological ways of achieving generativity as well as the development of a strong internal sense of authority or locus of control. Other strengths gained included: achieving a broad base of social support or a “family of choice,” and becoming role models themselves in response to a clear absence of positive role models during their own adolescence, which many identified as delaying their coming out. Finally, AIDS was discussed by many as a critical factor affecting how these men navigate each of Erikson'...
Securing Sensor Nodes Against Side Channel Attacks

Side channel attacks are non-invasive attacks in which adversaries gain confidential information by passively observing the target computing device. Sensor nodes are particularly vulnerable to side channel attacks due to the lack of protective physical shielding and their deployment in open environments. As sensor nodes are increasingly being deployed in safety critical applications such as power grid, volcano monitoring, and even military applications, protecting sensor nodes from side channel attacks is critical. However, side channel attacks on sensor nodes have not been investigated in previous work. In this paper, we present a taxonomy of side channel attacks on sensor nodes. For each type of the attacks, we provide guidelines and approaches to thwart the attack. We also propose a new technique, called process obfuscation, which can be used as a countermeasure for a variety of side channel attacks on sensor nodes. Furthermore, to demonstrate the feasibility of side channel attacks, we conducted electromagnetic leakage attacks, a type of side channel attack, on popular Tmote-sky sensor nodes using commercially available equipment.
Candida parapsilosis Tenosynovitis in an Immunocompetent Patient: Case Report and Review of Literature

We describe a case of fungal tenosynovitis with Candida parapsilosis, which is an uncommonly reported agent causing tenosynovitis. It occurred in an immunocompetent individual, and the patient underwent an extensive noninfectious work-up for ongoing swelling and stiffness before being correctly diagnosed and treated. We emphasize the importance of considering atypical infections in the differential diagnoses in a patient presenting with indolent symptoms of tenosynovitis.
Nef functions in BLT mice to enhance HIV-1 replication and deplete CD4+CD8+ thymocytes

Background: The outcome of untreated HIV-1 infection is progression to AIDS and death in nearly all cases. Some important exceptions are the small number of patients infected with HIV-1 deleted for the accessory gene, nef .W ith these infections, disease progression is entirely suppressed or greatly delayed. Whether Nef is critical for high levels of replication or is directly cytotoxic remains controversial. The major problem in determining the role of Nef in HIV/AIDS has been the lack of tractable in vivo models where Nef’s complex pathogenic phenotype can be recapitulated. Results: Intravenous inoculation (3000 to 600,000 TCIU) of BLT humanized mice with HIV-1LAI reproducibly establishes a systemic infection. HIV-1LAI (LAI) replicates to high levels (peak viral load in blood 8,200,000±1,800,000 copies of viral RNA/ml, range 3,600,000 to 20,400,000; n=9) and exhaustively depletes CD4 + Tc ells in blood and tissues. CD4 + CD8 + thymocytes were also efficiently depleted but CD4 + CD8 - thymocytes were partially resistant to cell killing by LAI. Infection with a nef-deleted LAI (LAINefdd) gave lower peak viral loads (1,220,000±330,000, range 27,000 to 4,240,000; n=17). For fourteen of seventeen LAINefdd-infected mice, there was little to no loss of either CD4 + T cells or thymocytes. Both LAIand LAINefdd-infected mice had about 8% of total peripheral blood CD8 + T cells that were CD38 + HLA-DR + compared <1% for uninfected mice. Three exceptional LAINefdd-infected mice that lost CD4 + T cells received 600,000 TCIU. All three exhibited peak viral loads over 3,000,000 copies of LAINefdd RNA/ml. Over an extended time course, substantial systemic CD4 + T cell loss was observed for the three mice, but there was no loss of CD4 + CD8 + or CD4 + CD8 - thymocytes. Conclusion: We conclude Nef is necessary for elevated viral replication and as a result indirectly contributes to CD4 + T cell killing. Further, Nef was not necessary for the activation of peripheral blood CD8 + T cells following infection. However, CD4 + CD8 + thymocyte killing was dependent on Nef even in cases of elevated LAINefdd replication and T cell loss. This depletion of thymic T cell precursors may be a significant factor in the elevated pathogenicity of CXCR4 trophic HIV-1.
Dircast: Flooding-reduced routing in MANETs without destination coordinates

The majority of the routing protocols designed and implemented to date for mobile ad hoc networks (MANET) rely on flooding of route requests for the establishment of routes on demand, flooding of topology information, or the hop-by-hop dissemination of distances or paths for each destination. The signaling overhead incurred with these strategies consumes excessive amounts of the scarce bandwidth available in a MANET as the number of nodes and the number of information flows increase. We introduce Dircast as an alternative for routing in MANETs. Dircast assumes that each node knows its own geographical coordinates and the geometry of the terrain in which the network is deployed. To find the route to a destination, a node selects a limited number of relays to forward a route request mesage based on their coordinates and the boundary vertices of the terrain if the prior location of the destinartion is unknown, or based on the prior location of the destination if it is known. If the destination is reached, a route reply is sent back to the source containing its coordinates. We compare Dircast with OLSR and AODV, which are representatives of traditional proactive and on-demand routing approaches in MANETs, and show that Dircast attains much lower routing overhead, which also leads to better delivery rates and shorter end-to-end delays.