cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Factors associated with family satisfaction with end-of-life care in the ICU: a systematic review.

BACKGROUND Family satisfaction with end-of-life care in the ICU has not previously been systematically reviewed. Our objective was to perform a review, synthesizing published data identifying factors associated with family satisfaction with end-of-life care in critically ill adult populations. METHODS The following electronic databases were searched: MEDLINE (Medical Literature Analysis and Retrieval System Online), MEDLINE Updated, EMBASE (Excerpta Medical Database), CINAHL (Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature), PsycInfo, and PubMed. Two authors reviewed retrieved titles and abstracts. Studies describing nonadult and non-ICU populations or not addressing end-of-life care, family satisfaction, or factors affecting satisfaction were excluded. The remaining articles underwent full review and data extraction by two authors. Quality was assessed using a checklist based on the recommendations of the Consolidated Standards for Reporting Trials group. RESULTS The search yielded 1,072 articles, with 23 articles describing 14 studies meeting inclusion criteria. All studies obtained satisfaction data from family members via surveys and structured interviews. Specific communication strategies increasing satisfaction included: expressions of empathy, nonabandonment, and assurances of comfort and provision of written information. Additionally, support for shared decision-making, family presence at time of death, and specific patient-care measures such as extubation before death were associated with increased satisfaction. CONCLUSIONS Good-quality communication, support for shared decision-making, and specific patient-care measures were associated with increased satisfaction with end-of-life care. Assessing the family's desire to participate in shared decision-making may also be an important factor. Few interventions increased satisfaction. Future research is needed to further define optimal communication strategies, understand effective integration of palliative care into the ICU, and define significant score changes in survey instruments.
Instructional Practices, Struggling Readers, and a University‐Based Reading Clinic

The author shares insights gained through teaching middle and high school struggling readers and raises issues related to the complexity of addressing the literacy needs of adolescents for whom reading is difficult. The role of university-based reading clinics in helping inservice teachers' think differently about struggling readers and the instructional practices they use to support adolescents' literacy learning is discussed. The author describes five key components of a program she developed for inservice teachers who work with struggling readers in the reading clinic at her university: • Moving teachers beyond their comfort zones • Using multiple forms of text • Teaching demonstrations followed by extensive peer feedback • Self-evaluation and reflection • Scaffolding by building on adolescents' literacy strengths rather than focusing on weaknesses The components are designed to expand teachers' experiences with teaching struggling readers, enhance their knowledge of reading instruction, and improve instructional practices for teaching literacy.
Coding modality vs. input modality in hypermnesia: Is a rose a rose a rose?

Abstract Recent experiments indicate that recall of pictures, unlike recall of words, may increase (hypermnesia) with time and effort. This study demonstrates that by recoding word inputs into ‘mental pictures’, i.e., images, subjects can transform inert word lists into hypermnesic ones. Thus, when word inputs are recoded into images, recall increases over time, and resembles in other respects the recall of pictures.
Slow light: Putting the brakes on images

Slow light has captured the imagination of physicists for over a decade. Although single light pulses have been slowed down in a variety of settings, a group at Rochester University has now managed to delay an entire image for the first time.
Micromechanics of time-dependent deformation in a dispersion-hardened polycrystal

A micromechanical theory is developed to study the time-dependent creep behavior of a two-phase alloy, consisting of a polycrystalline matrix and uniformly dispersed spherical particles. It is shown that there are two major sources of dispersion hardening-metallurgical, involving the bypassing of particles by dislocations, and mechanical, concerning the stress redistribution among the constituent phases and the calculation of creep strains. The metallurgical effect is implemented in a dispersion-dependent micro constitutive equation of slip systems. The problem of stress redistribution due to both the elastic and the plastic inhomogeneity is also analyzed. The results indicate that, while the stress in the creeping matrix of a constituent grain tends to decrease, the stress in the embedded inclusions is dependent upon the grain orientation in which they are embedded, and may increase or decrease. The overall creep behavior is calculated from the averaging process over the orientation of its constituent grains. This theory is finally applied to a cobalt system reinforced with rutile particles. Some merits and limitations of the theory are also discussed.
Wireless power transfer to mobile wearable device via resonance magnetic

The wireless power transfer (WPT) efficiency of a mobile wearable medical device (MWMD) by Strongly Coupled Magnetic Resonance (SCMR) method is studied here for air-tissue interfaces. Specifically, SCMR's wireless power transfer from a source of air to a sensor close to tissue is analyzed. A comparison of wireless power transfer efficiency between resonant spirals at different distances are shown. The efficiencies achieved in different areas of the human body are also reported.
A causality analysis of growth and export performance

This study examines both bivariate causal relationships between manufactured export performance and manufactured output growth and trivariate causal relationships between manufactured exports, investment, and manufactured output. Before the causality testing, integration and cointegration processes are tested in order to select the appropriate functional form. The causality testing process employs the vector autoregression (VAR) approach. Little evidence is found in the bivariate causal results and mixed evidence of causal relationships is found in the trivariate testing results.
REPLICATION IN EXPERIMENTAL COMMUNICATION RESEARCH: AN ANALYSIS

This study proposes a taxonomy of replication designs and applies it to a representative sample of experimental communication research reports in Communication Monographs and Human Communication Research. Results of the analysis indicate that publishability and reporting practices hamper our ability to identify replication studies. The implications of these findings are discussed, and several suggestions for improving the situation are offered.
Electronic effects in iridium C–H borylations: insights from unencumbered substrates and variation of boryl ligand substituents

Experiment and theory favour a model of C–H borylation where significant proton transfer character exists in the transition state.
Peeking at private parts, for science

Peppered with personal stories, historical context, and examples from across the animal kingdom, Nature's Nether Regions provides an accessible and entertaining account of one of the most fundamental, but long overlooked, aspects of biodiversity – animal genitalia. Belying their seemingly simple function, genitalia often exhibit bizarre shapes and sizes. Taxonomists have known this for centuries, employing genital morphology to identify species. But research aimed at unraveling why genitalia evolve such elaborate forms did not take root until recent decades.
Properties of undoped, copper-doped strontium-barium niobate thin films by sol-gel method

Transparent strontium-barium niobate (SBN) thin films, 0.3-1.0 pm, have been made by the solgel method. Alkoxide solutions were used as starting materials. Polycrystalline SBN thin films were grown on fused silica, single crystals silicon, and GaAs substrates after firing at 700°C. Dielectric, ferroelectric, and pyroelectric properties of SBN films were observed. Absorption spectra of SBN and SBN doped with 0.3 % Cu ( SBN:Cu) were measured. The photorefractive effect of SBN was demonstrated by a two-wave mixing experiment.
The agouti suppressor (As) coat color mutation in mice: Developmental effects on the expression of agouti locus alleles

The alleles at the agouti locus in the mouse determine whether eumelanin or pheomelanin is synthesized by the follicular melanocytes. The agouti suppressor (As) mutation, which is closely linked to the agouti locus, reduces the amount of pheomelanin produced by whatever agouti alleles are present in the animal's genome. Previous developmental studies have indicated that the agouti alleles exert their influence on the follicular melanocytes via interactions between the developing dermis and epidermis. Using the techniques of dermal-epidermal recombination of embryonic agouti suppressor (AsAw/AsAw), white-bellied agouti (Aw/Aw), yellow (Ay/a), viable yellow (Avy/Avy), black and tan (at/at), and nonagouti (a/a) mouse skin, the present study demonstrates that 1) the dermis is responsible for the development of regional pigmentation patterns in white-bellied agouti mice, and 2) the agouti suppressor mutation interferes with the expression of the white-bellied agouti allele by acting on the dermis as well as the epidermis. In addition, this study provides further evidence for the role of the epidermis in the expression of the agouti locus alleles.
Kinetics of random sequential adsorption.

We present the first kinetic analysis specifically applicable to the random sequential adsorption (RSA) process in the intermediate coverage range. Our method is applied to hard disks adsorbing on a flat, uniform surface. Exact analytic expressions are derived for the first three coefficients of a power series for the rate of adsorption as a function of the coverage \ensuremath{\bigominus}. Comparison with computer simulations shows that the third-order expansion describes the RSA process to an accuracy of better than 1% up to a coverage of 30%, i.e., up to 55% of the known jamming limit.
Selling an Imperial Dream: Japanese Pharmaceuticals, National Power, and the Science of Quinine Self-Sufficiency

This article examines Hoshi Pharmaceuticals’ attempt to cultivate cinchona, the raw material for the antimalarial drug quinine, in the mountains of Taiwan during the 1930s and 1940s. Hoshi Hajime, the founder and president of the company, pitched a “humanitarian” vision of quinine self-sufficiency for Japan’s empire centered on providing indigenous tribes with food and education in exchange for their land and labor. This vision appealed to a wide range of actors, including police officials and government bureaucrats, who argued over how to civilize the aboriginal population; botanists and agricultural companies, who pondered over how to further exploit the untapped potential of the island’s tropical environment; and doctors and bureaucrats concerned with the supply of quinine to civilian and military personnel as the wartime empire expanded into Southeast Asia. Hoshi’s cinchona cultivation project was a metaphor for the technocratic and utopian promise of Japan’s colonial empire. By tracing the project from its earliest beginnings to its postcolonial afterlife, I examine the complex connections between science, capitalism, and nationalism, situating colonial concerns in a web of global influences and inspirations.
Geometric and Algebraic Reduction for Singular Momentum Maps

This paper concerns the reduction of singular constraint sets of symplectic manifolds. It develops a “geometric” reduction procedure, as well as continues the work of Sniatycki and Patrick on reduction a la Dirac. The relationships among the Dirac, geometric, and Sniatycki-Weinstein algebraic reduction procedures are studied. Primary emphasis is placed on the case where the constraints are given by the vanishing of a (singular) momentum map associated to the Hamiltonian action of a compact Lie group. Specifically, an explicit local normal form is given for the momentum map which is used to show that these various reductions are all well defined, and a necessary and sufficient condition for them to agree is derived. Related conditions are investigated and shown to be sufficient in the case of torus actions. Numerous examples are computed, illustrating the results. Some discussion and examples are given for the noncompact case.
Analysis and quantitation of insect juvenile hormones using chemical ionization ion-trap mass spectrometry.

Abstract A method for identification and quantitation of insect juvenile hormones (JH) has been developed using capillary gas chromatography–chemical ionization (isobutane)–ion-trap mass spectroscopy. The method does not require derivatization of samples or use of selected ion monitoring. Analysis over a mass range of 60–350 u allowed for identification of as little as 0.01 pmol of individual JH homologs. Quantitative analysis was based on the ion intensities of six diagnostic ions and the summed intensities of these ions for each homolog. The ratio of diagnostic ions did not vary significantly over a range of concentrations from 2.7 to 200 pg. The technique was used to identify and quantify the amounts of JH homologs secreted by individual retrocerebral complexes from the moth Manduca sexta maintained in tissue culture and to identify JH III from hexane extracts of hemolymph of the Caribbean fruit fly. No discrimination due to disparate abundance ratios of the individual homologs was found when analyzing natural product samples differing in concentration by at least fivefold. The technique allows for facile, concrete identification and quantitation of biologically relevant amounts of JH. The ability to analyze samples without derivatization or fractionation by chromatographic methods, coupled with data acquisition over a broad mass range, provides levels of accuracy and confidence greater than those of other methods.
A simple mechanism for the avoidance of entanglement during chromosome replication

Abstract The interphase nucleus of the human eukaryotic cell, before DNA replication, contains 46 linear DNA molecules, each of the order of centimeters in length, in a spherical nucleus with a diameter of 3–10μm. How does the cell avoid topological entanglements between the 92 linear DNA molecules following replication? A model of chromosome replication is introduced, based on the assumption of the existence of a physical linkage between diverging growing forks during eukaryotic chromosome replication. This basic model is shown to be sufficient for the avoidance of DNA duplex entanglements during DNA replication. The model also suggests structural characteristics of chromosomes at various points in the cell cycle and provides a possible partial mechanism for chromosome condensation at the end of replication.
Bio-design automation: software + biology + robots

We sincerely apologize for any omissions of relevant work owing to space and reference limitations. D.M.D. acknowledges support from the Office of Naval Research, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, the National Science Foundation, Boston University, and Agilent Technologies. The authors would also like to acknowledge many conversations with colleagues at UC Berkeley, MIT, Harvard, Boston University, BBN Technologies, Autodesk, Agilent, Life Technologies, TeselaGen Biotechnologies, Desktop Genetics, Ginkgo Bioworks, and Genome Compiler. The authors hold financial interests in Lattice Automation Inc., a company developing bio-design automation solutions.
Estimates of Fixed Costs and the Sizes of Market Areas in the United States

This paper extends Loschian theory towards the end of claiming its applicability to heterogeneous space economies as well as to the homogeneous space economy. It then tests the theory by examining the relationships between fixed costs and market-area sizes. The result is an empirical demonstration that the level of fixed costs in the United States is so low that market areas too large to be approximated by the optimal hexagonal market-area shape are not likely to be associated with competition in free-enterprise countries. It is in fact indicated that competitive firms sell over comparatively small market areas. The related conclusion follows that there is nothing in market-area studies (empirical or theoretical) that would imply inefficiency or failure to maximize consumer wants.
Applications of the intramolecular diels-alder reactions of heterodienes to the syntheses of indole alkaloids

Abstract A novel intramolecular Diels-Alder reaction involving the addition of an α,β-unsaturated aldehyde to an electron-deficient, dienophilic partner has been exploited as the key step in the development of a general entry to the heteroyohimboid and corynantheioid alkaloids. Thus, the thermal cyclization of the nitrogen-linked triene 11, which is readily available in eight steps from propargyl alcohol, proceeded smoothly to afford the cis-cycloadduct 20 in 73% yield. The cis-lactam 20 serves the dual role of being the pivotal intermediate for the preparation of the secondary amine 24 (13 steps and 18% overall yield from propargyl alcohol), a known precursor of tetrahydroalstonine (4) and other heteroyohimboid bases, as well as for the syntheses of the α,β-unsaturated 2-piperidones 27 and 29, model compounds that have been designed to test the feasibility of a new strategy for the synthesis of the corynantheioid alkaloids bearing an (E)-ethylidene moiety at C(20).
Requirements for Two Proximal NF-κB Binding Sites and IκB-ζ in IL-17A-induced Human β-Defensin 2 Expression by Conducting Airway Epithelium

Among a panel of 21 cytokines (IL-1α, -1β, -2–13, and -15–18; interferon-γ; granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor; and tumor necrosis factor α), we have recently observed that IL-17A is the most potent inducer for human β-defensin 2 (hBD-2) in conducting airway epithelial cells (Kao, C. Y., Chen, Y., Thai, P., Wachi, S., Huang, F., Kim, C., Harper, R. W., and Wu, R. (2004) J. Immunol. 173, 3482–3491). The molecular basis of this regulation is not known. In this study, we demonstrated a coordinated degradation of inhibitory κB(IκB)-α followed by a nuclear translocation of p50 and p65 NF-κB subunits and their binding to NF-κB sites of hBD-2 promoter region. With site-directed mutagenesis, we demonstrated the requirement of two proximal NF-κB binding sites (pκB1, -205 to -186; pκB2, -596 to -572) but not the distal site (dκB, -2193 to -2182) in supporting IL-17A-induced hBD-2 promoter activity. These results are consistent with the data of the chromatin immunoprecipitation assay, which showed enhanced p50 binding to these pκB sites but not the dκB site in cells after IL-17A treatment. We also found that the NF-κB binding cofactor, IκB-ζ, was up-regulated by IL-17A, and the knockdown of IκB-ζ significantly diminished the IL-17A-induced hBD-2 expression. This is the first demonstration of the involvement of two proximal NF-κB sites and IκB-ζ in the regulation of hBD-2 by IL-17A, two important genes responsible for host defense.
Cell injury of cultured rat myocardial cells after reoxygenation of hypoxic cultures in the presence and absence of calcium

Primary cultures of rat myocytes were deprived of oxygen (approximately 5 mm Hg, pO2) for 2 h in the presence or absence of calcium and were subsequently incubated for different time periods under normoxic (approximately 120 mm Hg, pO2) conditions. Myocyte calcium content was determined at the end of the oxygen-free period and after repletion of oxygen. Lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) release from the cells into the medium was used as an index of cell injury. Cultures deprived of oxygen in the absence of calcium showed a significant decrease in myocyte calcium content at the end of the oxygen-free period. However, the calcium content of myocyte cultures deprived of oxygen in the presence of calcium did not change significantly. The enzyme release of both groups of oxygendeprived cultures was similar to that of controls. A progressive increase in myocyte calcium content was observed 5, 10, 15, and 30 min after repletion of oxygen in both groups. Reoxygenation of cultures subjected to hypoxia in the presence of calcium caused minimal LDH leakage. However, major enzyme release was observed 30 min after oxygen repletion in cultures previously subjected to hypoxia in a calcium-free environment. The present study shows that reoxygenation injury is more severe in myocyte cultures previously deprived of both oxygen and calcium than in cultures deprived of oxygen in the presence of calcium.
Keratinocyte degeneration in human facial skin: documentation of new ultrastructural markers for photodamage and their improvement during topical tretinoin therapy

We examined epidermal impairment in photodamaged Caucasian skin by light and electron microscopy and observed two types of degeneration of the basal and suprabasal keratinocytes. The first was an electron-lucent degeneration predominantly seen in the periphery of the cells. The marked lucent degeneration occurred in 14% of the basal and suprabasal keratinocytes, predominantly in cells immediately adjacent to melanocytes. In skin specimens with a large number of such damaged keratinocytes, bleb-like keratinocytic protrusions or electron-lucent intercellular structures were also seen. Many vacuolar structures were observed just under the dermoepidermal junction, occupying 9% of the junction length. These structures were produced by herniation of the degenerative portion of the basal and suprabasal keratinocytes, and appeared to be phagocytized by dermal macrophages. The vacuolar alterations in the basal layer and dermoepidermal junction previously reported at the light microscopic level probably represent these intercellular lucent structures, bleb-like protrusions and vacuole-like structures at the electron microscopic level. The second type, dark-staining keratinocytes, probably representing an extensive degenerative process, constituted 4% of the basal and suprabasal keratinocytes. After 12 months of topical tretinoin treatment, dramatic improvement of both degenerative processes of the keratinocytes was noted.
Third Molars and Incisor Crowding: When Removal Is Unwarranted

Recent evidence indicates that extracting unerupted mandibular third molars neither decreases interdental force measurably nor prevents mandibular incisor crowding. There are valid reasons for extracting third molars. But extraction for the exclusive purpose of relieving interdental pressure and thereby preventing incisor crowding is unwarranted.
Acute phase proteins and pesticide exposure.

Abstract Gamma mobility C-reactive protein (CRP) level was determined in the sera of persons occupationally exposed to pesticides and controls in conjunction with serum protein analysis and other biochemical and enzymologic tests. Workers chronically exposed to dieldrin and pentachlorophenol showed significantly higher prevalence of CRP than the unexposed persons. In addition, the pentachlorophenol-exposed subjects revealed significantly elevated levels of total bilirubin and creatine phosphokinase, although the levels were within normal limits. The results suggest that chronic exposure to pentachlorophenol may have been responsible for the difference in the prevalence of CRP between the pentachlorophenol and control groups.
Testosterone treatment in adolescents with delayed puberty: changes in body composition, protein, fat, and glucose metabolism.

Previously, we demonstrated decreased protein breakdown and insulin resistance in pubertal adolescents compared with prepubertal children. Puberty-related increases in sex steroids and/or GH could be potentially responsible. In the present study, the effects of 4 months of testosterone enanthate (50 mg im every 2 weeks) on body composition, protein, fat, and glucose metabolism and insulin sensitivity were evaluated in adolescents with delayed puberty. Body composition was assessed by H218O-dilution principle. Protein breakdown, oxidation, and synthesis were measured during primed constant infusion of [1-13C]leucine. Whole-body lipolysis was measured during primed constant infusion of[ 2H5]glycerol. Insulin action in suppressing proteolysis and lipolysis and stimulating glucose disposal was assessed during a stepwise hyperinsulinemic (10 and 40 mU•m2•min) euglycemic clamp. Fat and glucose oxidation rates were calculated from indirect calorimetry measurements. After 4 months of testosterone treatment, heigh...
International Corporate Differences: Markets or Law?

Current differences in international corporate ownership and governance systems reflect primarily differences in the efficiency of capital markets, not differences in corporate law. Law is an output of this process, not an input. In countries where financial markets are more efficient, there is both less law and greater investor protection. Unlike nations in Asia and most of Europe, the U.S. and the U.K. have large and efficient capital markets, with no restrictions on cross-border capital flows. It is thus notsurprising that when American and English banks, mutual funds, and insurers are allowed by law to increase the concentration of their holdings, they don't do so. With efficient markets, there is no money to be made by holding undiversified blocks in public corporations. If public markets were inefficient, entrepreneurs would arrange for large blocks of stock (or take companies private), just as they grant powers of control to venture capitalists. The effect of law on corporate governance and ownership is far less pronounced in America than in Europe and Japan. Restrictions on U.S. banks aside, corporate law in the United States is “enabling”–that is, it lets people do largely what they want in organizing, managing, and financing the firm. Corporate law in Europe and Japan is much more “directory.” And there is a straightforward explanation for this difference: When capital markets are efficient, the valuation process works better, which in turn provides investors with stronger assurances of fairness. When markets are less efficient, some substitute must be found–law, perhaps, or the valuation procedures of banks. Thus, banks play larger corporate governance roles in nations with less extensive capital markets–and corporate law, as the European Union's company directives show, is more restrictive. European corporate law is today about as meddlesome and directory as U.S. law in the late 19th century, before U.S. capital markets became efficient.
Nicotine fails to attenuate ketamine-induced cognitive deficits and negative and positive symptoms in humans: implications for schizophrenia.

Background The uncompetitive N -methyl-D-aspartate receptor (NMDAR) antagonist, ketamine, induces a range of symptoms resembling those seen in schizophrenia. Enhancement of nicotinic acetylcholine receptor (nAChR) function may have potential as a treatment for the cognitive deficits and negative symptoms of schizophrenia. Accordingly, we examined the modulatory effects of brain nAChR systems on NMDAR antagonist-induced effects. Methods The interactive effects of ketamine and nicotine were evaluated in 37 healthy subjects in a randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blind, crossover counterbalanced, 2 (intravenous ketamine or placebo) × 2 (intravenous nicotine or placebo) design. Verbal and visual memory, sustained attention, working memory, response inhibition, emotion recognition, executive function, reaction time, motor function, and speed of processing were assessed once per test day, while negative and positive symptoms, perceptual alterations, and a number of feeling states were measured several times before and after administration of drugs. Results Ketamine induced cognitive deficits and negative and positive symptoms. Nicotine worsened immediate recall, auditory working memory, response inhibition, and executive function and serial processing. Nicotine decreased (improved) reaction time on the sustained attention and choice reaction time tasks. Nicotine did not reduce ketamine-induced cognitive deficits or negative and positive symptoms. Conclusions At blood levels comparable with tobacco smoking, nicotine infusion does not appear to alleviate the ketamine-induced transient cognitive and behavioral effects in healthy subjects that resemble those seen in schizophrenia. The lack of an effect of nicotine on a spectrum of ketamine effects suggests that the consequences of NMDAR antagonism are not likely under the direct influence of nAChR.
Aptamer-based microfluidic biosensors

Micro- and nanofabrication has allowed the creation of ultra-sensitive, miniaturized, and inexpensive biosensors. These devices generally utilize chemical or biological receptors which recognize a particular compound of interest and transduce this recognition event into a measurable signal. Recent advances in RNA and DNA synthesis have enabled the use of aptamers, which are in-vitro generated oligonucleotides offering high affinity biomolecular recognition to a theoretically limitless variety of analytes. DNA and RNA aptamers have become increasingly popular in the biosensor community, to the extent that they have begun competing with more established affinity ligands including enzymes, lectins, and most immunoreceptors such as antibodies. We present an overview of our recent research effort in developing an aptamer-functionalized microfluidic platform that by design exploits the specificity and temperature-dependent reversibility of aptamers to enable enhanced biosensing. Using the specificity of aptamers, we demonstrate highly selective capture and enrichment of biomolecules. Employing thermally induced, reversible disruption of aptamer-target binding, we accomplish isocratic elution of the captured analytes and regeneration of the aptamer aptamer-functionalized surfaces, thereby eliminating the use of potentially harsh reagents. Using integrated microfluidic control, the eluted analytes are detected in a label-free fashion by mass spectrometric methods.
The comprehensive mission of rural community colleges

The rural community college is a major factor in the life of its service area. Modern colleges and their presidents face many challenges,including the need to maintain egalitarianism and to restructure higher education to serve students' real needs.
Structured object-oriented co-analysis/co-design of hardware/software for the FACTS power system

There are several approaches to the hardware/software design in embedded systems, ranging from the traditional sequential methods which focus on the determination of the hardware architecture prior to software design, to newer object-oriented approaches that attempt to apply software engineering methods to hardware design without a systematic process. This paper discusses a structured object-oriented methodology for the integrated co-analysis and co-design of hardware/software systems using an extended high order object-oriented modeling technique (HOOMT). This methodology offers a uniform method for hardware and software developers to jointly develop the specifications for and partitioning of the hardware and software components of a system, as well as developing the interfaces between components, and allows easy design migration of components between hardware and software. In this paper it is applied to the co-analysis/co-design of the hardware and software of a simulated advanced power grid control system.
How experts think about counterfactuals in business history: The role of theoretical commitments and disciplinary perspectives

Past work in politically charged domains has revealed a blame-game dynamic in how historical observers think about counterfactual scenarios. Our working hypothesis, however, is that business histor...
Understanding factors that influence success of home- and community-based services in keeping older adults in community settings.

Objectives: To understand factors that influence success of home- and community-based services in keeping older adults in community settings, we examined the causal relationships among older adults’ personal factors, older adults’ home- and community-based services use, and older adults’ remaining in communities. Methods: Structural equation modeling was employed to test a home- and community-based services model based on Andersen’s Health Behavioral Model. Data from 5,294 elders in a nationally representative dataset, the Second Longitudinal Study of Aging, were included for analysis. Results: Two significant supportive factors for older adults to remain in communities were use of paid instrumental activities of daily living (IADL) personal care services and awareness of unmet needs. Discussion: Our findings suggest the importance of encouraging older adults to acknowledge their unmet needs and to seek community-based support services early, rather than wait until they have developed more serious needs, ...
Colocalizing incipient reactions in wood degraded by the brown rot fungus Postia placenta

Abstract Brown rot fungi are theorized to use both free radicals and enzymes to degrade wood. If these incompatible agents are employed in sequence (enzymatic after oxidative) in order to avoid interaction, this should be resolvable spatially in rotting wood. To assess this, we used thin spruce wafers as substrates, with the largest face the transverse plane. Propped wafers were colonized from the bottom (tangential to grain) by Postia placenta, using wood cell orientation and gravity to slow fungal egress and accentuate spatial gradients. After brief colonization, wafers were cut into 1-mm strips progressing up the wafer, and subsectioned for complementary analyses. Analyses included fungal growth, pH, cellulase activity, and wood modifications attributable to non-enzymatic mechanisms. Hyphae were imaged using confocal microscopy of fluorophore-tagged chitin. Dilute alkali solubility and lignin demethylation were measured as proxies (consequences) of carbohydrate depolymerization and lignin oxidation, respectively. Because P. placenta lacks genes for cellobiohydrolases, endoglucanase (EG) activity was measured. In composites of reassembled sections, hyphal fronts and apparent depolymerization preceded EG and lignin demethylation fronts by more than 6 mm. Although detection limits are a caveat when implicating novel fungal metabolites, results encourage and provide methodology for targeting this interesting leading edge of cellulolysis.
Model-based clutter suppression in the presence of phase-aberration from in vivo data and simulations

In attempting to clarify the mechanism of ultrasound B-mode in vivo image degradation, recent studies reveal that both multipath scattering and phase-aberration are primary causes of image degradation. To compare the relative contributions of these two effects on imaging, it is important to differentiate whether image degradation is from multipath scattering, phase-aberration or a combination of both. Our aperture domain model image reconstruction (ADMIRE) algorithm, which identifies and suppresses clutter sources, enables us to separate these two effects. Using ADMIRE, we performed simulations to test whether aberration measurements are corrupt in the presence of multipath scattering. We also evaluated ADMIRE in the presence of phase-aberration. We then modified the original ADMIRE, by adapting estimated aberration profiles from pre-ADMIRE data into the original model (referred to as adaptive ADMIRE). We also performed in vivo studies with the two algorithms, comparing results using image quality metrics and aberration profile characterization. Contrast improvement relative to the original B-mode, with ADMIRE and adaptive ADMIRE, are 7.1±2.5 dB and 6.6±2.7 dB, respectively. The aberration profiles' FWHM after ADMIRE and adaptive ADMIRE are 4.0±.28 mm and 2.8±1.3 mm, respectively. The average RMS post-ADMIRE and post-adaptive ADMIRE are 16±5.4 ns and 20±6.3 ns, respectively. Both simulations and in vivo results suggest that ADMIRE suppresses phase-aberration.
Molecular biology of breast metastasis: The use of mathematical models to determine relapse and to predict response to chemotherapy in breast cancer

Breast cancer mortality rates have shown only modest improvemen despite the advent of effective chemotherapeutic agents which have been administered to a large percentage of women with breast cancer. In an effort to improve breast cancer treatment strategies, a variety of mathematical models have been developed that describe the natural history of breast cancer and the effects of treatment on the cancer. These models help researchers to develop, quantify, and test various treatment hypotheses quickly and efficiently. The present review discusses several of these models, with a focus on how they have been used to predict the initiation time of metastatic growth, the effect of operative therapy on the growth of metastases, and the optimal administration strategy for chemotherapy.
Semiconcurrent Online Testing of Transition Faults through Output Response Comparison of Identical Circuits

We describe a method for online testing of delay faults based on the comparison of output responses of identical circuits. The method allows one of the circuits to participate in useful computations during the testing process, while the other circuit must be idle. We refer to this method as semiconcurrent online testing. While unknown input vectors are applied to the circuit that participates in useful computations, the proposed method applies modified vectors to the idle circuit. In this way, different conditions are created for the detection of delay faults, allowing identical delay faults that affect both circuits to be detected. In designing the modified vectors, we ensure that the expected fault-free responses of the two circuits are identical. We also ensure that the hardware for modifying the vectors applied to the idle circuit will be easy to implement on-chip.
Contrast and Range Effects for Category, Magnitude and Labeled Magnitude Scales in Judgements of Sweetness Intensity

The labeled magnitude scale (LMS) is a verbally anchored quasi-logarithmically spaced response scale with properties similar to magnitude estimation. Three experiments examined whether the LMS showed context effects similar to those found with magnitude estimation and category scales. Two versions of the LMS were used, one anchored at the high end to the strongest imaginable sweetness and the other to the strongest imaginable oral sensation. In a simple contrast experiment, subjects judged the sweetness of a 10% sucrose fruit beverage in the context of a less sweet (5%) beverage or a more sweet (20%) beverage. Consistent with previous literature, the sweetness was judged more intense in the low context and less intense in the high context, for all scaling methods. In a second experiment, this effect persisted (although was smaller) when the contextual item preceded the to-be-rated item, a so-called 'reversed-pair' design. Once again, the effect was highly significant for all scaling methods. In a third experiment, a range effect was examined using wide and narrow ranges of concentration. Psychophysical functions were flatter in a wide context and steeper in a narrow context, consistent with previous observations on range-mapping bias. This result was obtained for all scales. In three common contextual effects, the labeled magnitude scale behaved similarly to other scaling procedures. Its application to comparisons across individuals may be limited if those individuals have different experiential contexts within which they make their judgements.
Refined error concealment for multiple state video coding over ad hoc networks

Providing reliable end-to-end video communications over wireless ad-hoc networks is a challenging problem due to the highly dynamic topology of the ad-hoc networks and the unreliable wireless channels. Multiple description coding (MDC) with path diversity is often proposed to maintain connectivity but the challenge is to match the chosen MDC method with an effective error concealment scheme. The paper proposes refined error concealment (REC) methods on a macroblock (MB) basis for a popular MDC method called multiple state video coding (MSVC) to improve the transmitted video quality over the lossy networks. The performance of the MSVC method with refined error concealment (MSVC_REC) is evaluated over a two-hop two-path wireless ad-hoc network model. When compared to MSVC and single description coding (SDC), MSVC_REC is shown to provide better PSNR performance over the wireless ad-hoc network with both burst and random losses.
Decentralized detection in sensor networks

In this paper, we investigate a binary decentralized detection problem in which a network of wireless sensors provides relevant information about the state of nature to a fusion center. Each sensor transmits its data over a multiple access channel. Upon reception of the information, the fusion center attempts to accurately reconstruct the state of nature. We consider the scenario where the sensor network is constrained by the capacity of the wireless channel over which the sensors are transmitting, and we study the structure of an optimal sensor configuration. For the problem of detecting deterministic signals in additive Gaussian noise, we show that having a set of identical binary sensors is asymptotically optimal, as the number of observations per sensor goes to infinity. Thus, the gain offered by having more sensors exceeds the benefits of getting detailed information from each sensor. A thorough analysis of the Gaussian case is presented along with some extensions to other observation distributions.
Ion-cyclotron-resonance mass spectrometry with a microwave plasma source

The feasibility of coupling an electron-cyclotron-resonance (ECR) plasma-processing reactor directly to an omegatron mass spectrometer is demonstrated. The ECR plasma is created in a chamber that is coupled to the omegatron through a small, grounded orifice. Ions created in the ECR chamber flow along the magnetic field into the omegatron analysis cell, and the mass spectrum of these ions is recovered. Using this technique the mass spectra of both single-component (He) and two-component (N/sub 2/ and N) ECR plasmas were measured. The mass resolution as a function of the omegatron excitation voltage for He and N/sub 2/ plasmas was obtained and found to compare well to theoretical calculations. >
Jogging and bone mineral density in men: results from NHANES III.

Objectives. This cross-sectional population-based study assessed the association of jogging with femoral bone mineral density (BMD) in men. Methods. Data are from a nationally representative sample of 4254 men aged 20 to 59 years from the Third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES III). Total femoral BMD was measured by dual energy x-ray absorptiometry. Jogging was self-reported. Results. Jogging (any vs none) was strongly associated with higher BMD in multivariate models (P < .01) for both young and middle-aged men. Men who jogged 9 or more times per month had higher BMD levels than those who jogged only 1 to 8 times per month (P = .01). Conclusions. Jogging is associated with higher femoral neck BMD in men. Additional large-scale studies that measure all aspects of jogging are warranted. (Am J Public Health. 2001;91: 1056‐1059) Jogging is enjoyed by millions of people in the United States. Individuals who undertake high-impact activities like jogging on a regular basis may have higher bone mineral density (BMD), particularly at the femoral neck. 1 Higher levels of weight-bearing or vigorous physical activity have been shown to be associated with a lower incidence of hip fractures. 2,3 A number of studies have investigated the effect of jogging on BMD, with many focusing on women. 4‐9 Among men, the results for jogging and BMD have been inconsistent. Some studies have found higher BMD among joggers in the femoral neck, lumbar spine, or total body, 1,10‐12 while others
Selective estrogen receptor modulators: tissue selectivity and differential uterine effects.

Selective estrogen receptor modulators (SERMs) are compounds that bind to estrogen receptors and produce estrogen-like (agonist) effects in some tissues and estrogen-blocking (antagonist) effects in other tissues. One of the goals of SERM research has been to develop compounds that provide the potential benefits of estrogen in the skeleton and cardiovascular system, but avoid the negative effects of estrogen in other tissues. Estrogen therapy has been consistently associated with endometrial stimulation, including glandular proliferation, hyperplasia and cancer. In contrast, the presence or degree of endometrial stimulation observed with SERMs varies by compound. The purpose of this review is to differentiate the endometrial effects of compounds that display a SERM-like profile. Molecular mechanisms involving SERM binding to estrogen receptors, preclinical uterine effects in both tissue culture and animal models, and endometrial findings in clinical experience are discussed. There are several SERMs commer...
Body mass index and waist circumference both contribute to differences in insulin-mediated glucose disposal in nondiabetic adults.

Background: Overweight and obese individuals are more likely to be insulin resistant and at increased risk of adverse clinical outcomes. Questions remain as to whether waist circumference (WC) or body mass index (BMI) most effectively identifies insulin-resistant individuals. Objective: This study quantified insulin-mediated glucose uptake (IMGU) in 330 apparently healthy volunteers and compared the relation between this value and measurements of WC and BMI. Design: IMGU was quantified via determination of the steady-state plasma glucose (SSPG) concentration during the insulin-suppression test. Differences in SSPG concentrations due to variations in WC within a given BMI category, as well as those due to differences in BMI within a given WC classification, were then compared. Results: BMI and WC correlated with each other (r = 0.78, P < 0.001) and equally with SSPG concentrations (r = 0.58 and 0.57, respectively; P < 0.001). When stratified by BMI, abdominally obese subjects within the overweight BMI category had higher SSPG concentrations than did those with a normal WC (P < 0.05). When classified by WC, subjects in the overweight BMI category had greater SSPG concentrations than did subjects in the normal BMI category within the normal WC category (P < 0.01), as did subjects in the obese BMI category in comparison with subjects in the overweight BMI category within the obese WC category (P < 0.01). Conclusions: The more overweight or obese a person, the greater the degree of insulin resistance; differences in adiposity accounted for approximately one-third of the variation in IMGU, irrespective of the index used. Furthermore, there was no difference in the relation between the degree of insulin resistance and either index of adiposity.