cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Implications of malnutrition and diagnosis-related groups (DRGs).

The implications of malnutrition on the Medicare Prospective Payment System of diagnosis-related groups (DRGs) were examined in 185 Medicare patients, aged 65 to 69 years, admitted to an acute-care tertiary hospital. Upon admission, patients were classified as malnourished if they were below the acceptable level in at least two of four parameters: serum albumin concentration, total lymphocyte count, percent ideal body weight, and percent weight loss. On the basis of that criterion, 8.6% (no. = 16) of the 185 patients were classified as malnourished. Although patients were classified as malnourished, malnutrition was among several comorbidity and complication (CC) factors, and, therefore, coding for malnutrition in any of these cases would not have increased hospital reimbursement. If malnutrition had been the only CC factor, hospital reimbursement would have been enhanced. J Am Diet Assoc 89:1448-1451, 1989.
Impacts of Exurban Development on Water Quality

This chapter details the impacts of exurban development on water quantity and quality in the United States. The chapter begins by reviewing studies that document the consequences of urbanization on water quality, with emphasis on exurban development. We show how watersheds are contaminated by a range of organic and inorganic compounds as land use along the rural-to-urban gradient intensifies. These studies indicate the need to evaluate anticipated land-use changes carefully so that watershed conservation is improved. The chapter then describes the use of modeling methods that link land-use change with watershed conservation. A case study of California’s Russian River Basin demonstrates the use of coupled land-use impact/land-use change models as decision-support tools that enable assessment of future land-use change, including exurban land development.
Positive and negative plant-soil feedbacks are caused by mycorrhizal type, soil fertility, and phylogenetic relatedness in a mixed Dipterocarp rain forest

While work in temperate forests suggests that there may be consistent differences in plant-soil feedback (PSF) between plants with arbuscular and ectomycorrhizal associations, it is unclear whether this is compatible with the high diversity of tropical rainforests. To examine this, we tested the effect of mycorrhizal type, phylogenetic distance, and soil fertility on variation in PSF strength in a mixed-tropical rainforest with a uniquely high diversity of ectomycorrhizal and arbuscular mycorrhizal trees. We found positive phylogenetic PSFs for ectomycorrhizal tree species that were insensitive to soil fertility. By contrast, PSFs for arbuscular mycorrhizal tree species were negative, and increasingly so with greater soil fertility. Our results demonstrate consistent effects of mycorrhizal types on plant population dynamics across biomes, and help explain biogeographic variation across tropical forests, such as familial dominance of the Dipterocarpaceae in SE Asia. However, they also raise questions about the role of PSFs in maintaining tropical diversity.
Data Locality Exploitation in Cache Compression

State-of-the-art cache compression methods compress multiple neighboring blocks often called as a sector into a single 64-byte block to effectively enlarge the cache capacity. A compressed block is created by storing 4-byte data patterns as dictionary entries and pointers to them for compressing multiple blocks. Furthermore, sector-based tag array maintains one-to-one mapping between tag and data arrays in order to preserve conventional cache access mechanism. We present a dual-block compression method which uses an entire uncompressed block as dictionary and compresses multiple neighboring blocks in a separate companion block to provide a larger dictionary for better compression ratios. Furthermore, we introduce the concept of buddy-set which expands the compressible candidate blocks across two adjacent cache sets to enlarge the scope of compression. Performance evaluations for the last-level cache show that the proposed dual-block compression with expansion of compressible candidates in the buddy-set can enlarge the cache by an average of 60% while current state-of-art compression proposal has only 29% improvement. The proposed scheme demonstrates 8.9% speedup over caches without compression.
Implication of Protein Oxidation in Protein Turnover, Aging, and Oxygen Toxicity

A number of enzymatic and nonenzymatic mixed-function oxidation (MFO) systems catalyze the oxidation of enzymes.1–6 With oxidation, the enzymes are converted to catalytically inactive or less active forms that are more sensitive to heat denaturat ion7 and to proteolytic degradation.8–11 Enzyme oxidation is likely the basis of some normal biological functions, e.g., in the killing of bacteria by neutrophils, in limitation of the inflammatory response, in controlling the switch from anaerobic to aerobic metabolism, and in the regulation of the turnover of some enzymes. Enzyme oxidation also might be implicated in a variety of pathological disorders, including arthritis, aging, carcinogenesis, broncho-pulmonary dysplasia and adult respiratory distress syndrome, retinopathy of prematurity, and reperfusion-mediated ischemic damage.
The National Labor Relations Board in the Twenty-First Century

This paper discusses the role of the National Labor Relations Board since its creation in 1935. It focuses upon the reason for the Board's creation as a bulwark for protection of concerted activity, freedom of association and the collective bargaining process. Considerable attention is given to the basic concept embedded in this and similar administrative agencies, i.e., independence. The paper notes the shifts which took place during the Eisenhower administration, the subsequent decrease in partisan controversy in the 60's and early to mid-70's and the rise of partisan controversy due to the polarization of the political parties as well as the weakening of the labor movement in the 80's and 90's. In particular, attention is given to the "batching" of NLRB appointments as a mirror image of the above described phenomena. The Supreme Court decisions relating to the Board's quorum and the constitutionality of recess appointments, as well as, the use of the filibuster and other mechanisms such as the Congressional Review Act are discussed. Finally, a range of proposals to reform both the administrative process as well as the appointment mechanisms designed to reduce politicization and enhance the Board's quasi-judicial process is set forth.
Relationship between family caregiver quality of life and the care provided to people living with dementia: protocol for a mixed methods study.

Objective Family caregivers of people with dementia perform duties that are important for maintaining their loved one's overall well-being. However, it is not yet clear how these caregivers' quality-of-life affects their ability to meet the care demands of their loved ones. The purpose of this study is to utilize a mixed methods approach in investigating how family caregiver quality-of-life affects the care provided to people with dementia. Family caregivers will be recruited from the Rochester, New York area to participate in focus groups or one-on-one interviews. In addition to the qualitative data obtained, caregivers will complete questionnaires regarding their own quality-of-life (e.g., health status, socioeconomic) as well as the care provided to their loved ones with dementia (e.g., how the care provided meets the needs of the care recipient, time spent). A convergent mixed methods approach will be used to analyze the qualitative and quantitative data obtained. Results Data from the interviews will be transcribed verbatim and then analyzed qualitatively. Quantitative data from the questionnaires will be analyzed using IBM SPSS Statistics software. A convergent mixed methods approach will be applied to the datasets to help shed light on the relationship between family caregiver quality-of-life and the care provided to people living with dementia. Understanding of this relationship will make it possible to develop initiatives that better address caregiver needs.
Multicomponent transport of methanol and acetate in a series of crosslinked PEGDA-AMPS cation exchange membranes

Abstract Multicomponent transport through hydrated dense membranes is utilized in many applications, including photoelectrochemical CO2 reduction cells. One of the main challenges in these devices is to design an ion exchange membrane that minimizes crossover of CO2 reduction products, such as methanol and acetate, while maintaining sufficient ionic conductivity. Previously, the transport behavior of a sulfonated cation exchange membrane, Nafion® 117, to methanol and sodium acetate was investigated and an increase in permeability to sodium acetate was noticed in co-permeation with methanol. To further investigate this transport behavior, a charge-neutral membrane (PEGDA) and a series of sulfonated cation exchange membranes (PEGDA-AMPS) were prepared by varying the poly(ethylene glycol) diacrylate to 2-acrylamido-2-methylpropanesulfonic acid ratio. A distinct increase in permeability to sodium acetate in co-permeation with methanol is observed in co-permeation experiments compared to single solute permeation experiments. We attribute this transport behavior to the shielding of electrostatic repulsion, in which methanol interferes with electrostatic repulsion between acetate and membrane-bound sulfonate anions.
Next-generation assessment of human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 gene (ERBB2) amplification status in invasive breast carcinoma: a focus on Group 4 by use of the 2018 American Society of Clinical Oncology/College of American Pathologists HER2 testing guideline.

AIMS The American Society of Clinical Oncology/College of American Pathologists (ASCO/CAP) updated the testing guideline in 2018 to address issues arising from uncommon human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2) fluorescence in-situ hybridisation (FISH) results according to the 2013 guideline. Next-generation sequencing (NGS) may be used to better classify patients. The aim of this study was to assess the ERBB2 amplification status of invasive breast carcinoma with equivocal HER2 immunohistochemistry (IHC) results by using NGS, focusing on Group 4 (HER2/CEP17 ratio of <2.0; average HER2 signals/cell of ≥4.0 and <6.0). METHODS AND RESULTS We retrospectively reviewed HER2 FISH and NGS data of HER2 IHC-equivocal breast carcinomas at our centre between January 2009 and September 2019, wherein all three assays were performed on the same tissue block, and compared HER2 FISH results, according to the 2018 ASCO/CAP guideline, and the ERBB2 amplification status determined with NGS. A total of 52 HER2 FISH and NGS results from 51 patients with HER2 IHC-equivocal breast carcinomas were reviewed. The cohort included eight cases classified as 2018 ASCO/CAP in-situ hybridisation Group 1, three classified as Group 2, three classified as Group 3, 14 classified as Group 4, and 24 classified as Group 5. Thirteen of 14 (92.9%) Group 4 (HER2-negative) cases were classified as ERBB2-non-amplified by the use of NGS; the discordant case was later classified as Group 1 with alternative sample FISH testing. NGS revealed no significant difference in somatic mutations or copy number alterations between Groups 4 and 5. CONCLUSIONS Our NGS findings support the reclassification of HER2 FISH-equivocal cases as HER2-negative under the 2018 ASCO/CAP guideline.
CAT Scan: A Critical Review of the Critical-Thinking Assessment Test

The CAT is entirely dedicated to assessing the critical-thinking skills involved in scientific reasoning and practical problem solving. While the test is found to have reasonable content validity, various issues with its prompts are discussed, along with significant issues with its scoring. The CAT’s recommended use as a “model” for curricular changes, called CAT Apps, is criticized as “teaching to the test.”
Extracting Individual Respiratory Signatures from Combined Multi-Subject Mixtures with Varied Breathing Pattern Using Independent Component Analysis with the JADE Algorithm

Concurrent respiration monitoring of multiple subjects remains a challenge in microwave Doppler radar-based non-contact physiological sensing technology. Prior research using Independent component analysis with the JADE algorithm has been limited to the separation of respiratory signatures for normal breathing patterns. This paper investigates the feasibility of using the ICA-JADE algorithm with a 24-GHz phase comparison monopulse radar transceiver for separating respiratory signatures from combined mixtures of varied breathing patterns. Normal, fast, and slow breathing pattern variations likely to occur due to physiological activity, and emotional stress were used as a basis for assessing separation robustness. Experimental results showed efficacy for recognition of three different breathing patterns, and isolation of respiratory signatures with an accuracy of100% for normal breathing, 92% for slow breathing, and 83.78% for fast breathing using ICA-JADE. Breathing pattern variations were observed to affect the signal-to-noise ratio through multiple mechanisms, decreasing with an increase in the number of breathing cycles and associated motion artifacts. Additionally, for removing motion artifacts of fast breathing pattern empirical mode decomposition (EMD) is employed, and for slow breathing pattern, increasing the breathing cycles helps to achieve an accuracy of 89.2% and 94.5% respectively.
The contribution of gut microbiota in the pathogenesis of Parkinson’s disease

Abstract Parkinson’s disease is the second most common age-related neurodegenerative disease in the United States. It is characterized by motor dysfunction (bradykinesia, tremor, rigidity, and postural instability). The progressive loss of the neurotransmitter dopamine, resulting in death of dopaminergic neurons in the substantia nigra pars compacta, is recognized as the underlying pathophysiology of the motor dysfunction in Parkinson’s disease. Moreover, it is characterized by the accumulation of aggregated α-synuclein protein in Lewy bodies and Lewy neurites. Parkinson’s disease was primarily considered a brain disorder. However, it has often been preceded by nonmotor symptoms (sleep disorder, depression, loss of smell, and gastrointestinal symptoms, especially constipation). The presence of Lewy bodies and α-synuclein propagating in a prion-like manner in Parkinson’s disease patients’ guts as well as brains explores the hypothesis that α-synuclein folding is modulated by gut microbiota. This chapter discusses key aspects regarding the impact of gut microbiota in Parkinson’s disease development.
Understanding transcription across scales: From base pairs to chromosomes

The influence of genome organization on transcription is central to our understanding of cell type specification. Higher-order genome organization is established through short- and long-range DNA interactions. Coordination of these interactions, from single atoms to entire chromosomes, plays a fundamental role in transcriptional control of gene expression. Loss of this coupling can result in disease. Analysis of transcriptional regulation typically involves disparate experimental approaches, from structural studies that define angstrom-level interactions to cell-biological and genomic approaches that assess mesoscale relationships. Thus, to fully understand the mechanisms that regulate gene expression, it is critical to integrate the findings gained across these distinct size scales. In this review, I illustrate fundamental ways in which cells regulate transcription in the context of genome organization.
Technology Transfer and Commercialization as a Source for New Revenue Generation for Higher Education Institutions and for Local Economies

The basic and underlying mission of most universities is two-fold: knowledge transmission (education and training) and knowledge generation (research and scholarship).
Communication-Compressed Adaptive Gradient Method for Distributed Nonconvex Optimization.

Due to the explosion in the size of the training datasets, distributed learning has received growing interest in recent years. One of the major bottlenecks is the large communication cost between the central server and the local workers. While error feedback compression has been proven to be successful in reducing communication costs with stochastic gradient descent (SGD), there are much fewer attempts in building communication-efficient adaptive gradient methods with provable guarantees, which are widely used in training large-scale machine learning models. In this paper, we propose a new communication-compressed AMSGrad for distributed nonconvex optimization problem, which is provably efficient. Our proposed distributed learning framework features an effective gradient compression strategy and a worker-side model update design. We prove that the proposed communication-efficient distributed adaptive gradient method converges to the first-order stationary point with the same iteration complexity as uncompressed vanilla AMSGrad in the stochastic nonconvex optimization setting. Experiments on various benchmarks back up our theory.
The 115Sn(n,γ) Reaction With Thermal Neutrons

We have constructed an energy level scheme for 116Sn with 110 levels below 7.5 MeV. This level scheme is based mainly on single (n, γ) measurements with thermal neutrons.
Historical Perspective: Pearson’s X 2 and the Loglikelihood Ratio Statistic G 2

In Chapter 8 we looked towards future directions for research in goodness of-fit statistics for discrete multivariate. We now provide some historical perspective on the two“old warriors,” X2 and G2, which supports our conclusions for the power-divergence family in Chapters 3–7.
Bridging the Gap: possible roles and contributions of representational momentum

Memory for the position of a moving target is often displaced in the direction of anticipated motion, and this has been referred to as representational momentum. Such displacement might aid spatial localization by bridging the gap between perception and action, and might reflect a second-order isomorphism between subjective consequences of environmentally invariant physical principles and the functional architecture of mental representation that can be modulated by an observer’s expectations (e.g., that a moving target will change its heading) or by the presence of nontarget stimuli (e.g., landmarks). Representational momentum and related types of displacement reflect properties of the world and properties of mental representation, and so a consideration of representational momentum and related types of displacement contribute an important component of contemporary psychophysics, and also broaden the reach of psychophysics to include numerous topics not usually considered within psychophysics (e.g., naive physics, boundary extension, flash-lag effect, aesthetics, mental imagery).
Cardiovascular and Autonomic Influences on Blood Pressure

The cardiovascular system provides appropriate organ and tissue perfusion at rest and at times of stress by regulation of blood pressure (BP). The arterial pressure level at any given time reflects the composite activities of the heart and the peripheral circulation.
The structure of a Bcl-xl/Bim fragment complex: Implications for Bim function

After antigen-driven expansion, the majority of T cells involved in an immune response die rapidly by apoptosis dependent on the Bcl-2 related proteins, Bim and Bax or Bak. The details of how these proteins are activated and interact are still unclear. The crystal structure of mouse Bcl-x(L) bound to a long helical fragment of Bim indicates that the structure of Bim is very different from proteins with a Bcl-2-like fold and may leave the BH3 region of Bim constitutively exposed. Based on the structural homology between Bcl-x(L) and Bax, we predicted that binding of Bim to Bax would require displacement of the Bax penultimate alpha helix. Consistent with this prediction, truncation of this short helix was required for Bim/Bax interaction and led to spontaneous activation of Bax. Our results suggest a way in which both Bim and Bax/Bak might be required for activated T cell apoptosis.
Abnormal shoulder girdle muscle tone in premature infants during their first 18 months of life.

To document the incidence of and neonatal factors associated with abnormal shoulder girdle muscle tone in premature infants at follow-up, we studied 125 consecutively admitted infants weighing less than 1,750 g treated in The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia intensive care nursery and subsequently seen in the Neonatal Follow-up Program up to 18 months of age. Fifty-seven infants (46%) displayed abnormal shoulder girdle muscle tone which presented clinically as scapular retractions. These infants had significantly lower birth weights (P less than .001) and gestational age (P less than .001) as well as a higher incidence of acute and chronic pulmonary disease (P less than 0.01) and CNS insults (P less than .05) when compared with infants without scapular retractions. The 57 infants with scapular retractions were further divided into two groups: 42 infants (74%) in whom scapular retractions were associated with generalized mild hypertonicity and 15 infants (26%) in whom scapular retractions compensated for trunk and neck hypotonicity. The infants with scapular retractions and hypotonicity had a significantly higher incidence of neonatal neurologic morbidity including seizures, major resuscitations, and birth asphyxia (P less than .01) when compared with the infants with scapular retractions and hypertonicity. Shoulder girdle tone abnormalities in the first year of life inhibit crawling, sitting, and object manipulation and, therefore, may manifest as delays in motor development. Identification of infants with significant neonatal risk factors for tone abnormalities is important to allow for earlier therapeutic intervention.
Laser-induced photochromic effect in Tb3+-doped silica fibres

Broad-band visible absorption was induced in Tb/sup 3+/ doped silica fibres when Tb/sup 3+/ ions were resonantly excited at wavelengths of 476.5, 488 and 496.5 nm. The induced absorption can be partially bleached by green light at 514 nm and blue light at 457.9 nm.
In Hindsight Urban Exposure Explains the Association Between Prior Migration and Current Health of Older Adults in Mexico

Objective: This study examines sex differences in the association between migration and exposure to an urban environment and overweight, hypertension and diabetes in later life. Methods: Interviews were conducted with 3,604 adults aged 50 and older in the Mexican Family Life Survey (MxFLS). Logistic regression analyses were used to examine the association between previous migration, urban exposure, and risk of overweight, hypertension, and diabetes. Results: Migration itself was not associated with health outcomes after controlling for urban exposure. The risk of overweight and diabetes associated with urban exposure appeared to be greater for men. Sex differences were found in the covariates that helped explain differences in health between those with high and low urban exposure. Discussion: These findings underscore the need to consider heterogeneity in health by urban exposure and by sex.
On maximum likelihood estimators of shape and scale parameters and their application in constructing confidence contours.

The seminal result of a “Student”, which initiated exact statistical inference, stated that for the normal distribution the statistic where [Xbar] is the sample mean and s the sample standard deviation, has a t-distribution which depends upon the sample size but not upon the population mean μ or the standard deviation σ, see “Student” the Probable Error of the Mean Biometrika, 1908. This result can be generalized to other situat,ions by using maximum likelihood estimates, namely the statistic has a distribution independent of the location and scale parameters μ and σ, respectively, where denote the correspondi corresponding MLE's based on complete or type II censored samples, see Antle and Bain, “ A Property of Maximum Likelihood Estimators of Location and Scale Parameters” SIAM Review, 1969. In this report the MLE's of shape and scale parameters,a and fi respectively, for the survival distribution [Fbar]of a r.v. X defined by with R a prescribed reliability function, are shown to have the property that h...
Dropping the shelf examination: does it affect student performance on the United States Medical Licensure Examination Step 2?

Objective.—Does use of the pediatric shelf examination affect students' performance on the United States Medical Licensure Examination (USMLE) Step 2 pediatric subtest? Methods.—The National Board of Medical Examiners Pediatrics Subject Examination (NBMEPSE) was used as the pediatric clerkship final examination at Brown Medical School through the 1996–97 academic year. The NBMEPSE was dropped in July 1997. Students' mean scores for the pediatric subtest of the USMLE Step 2 were compared for the years before and after the NBMEPSE was dropped. Performance on the internal medicine subtest of the USMLE Step 2 examination was used as a control because the National Board of Medical Examiners Internal Medicine Subject Examination (NBMEIMSE) remained the final examination in the internal-medicine clerkship. Results.—USMLE Step 2 scores trended upward from 1993 to 2003. From 1993 to 1997, Brown medical students performed above the US/Canadian mean on both the USMLE Step 2 pediatrics and internal medicine subtests as well as on the overall examination. Students performed at or just below the mean on both the USMLE Step 2 pediatrics and internal medicine subtests from 1998 to 2001. Conclusions.—Dropping the shelf examination coincided with a decrease in performance on the USMLE Step 2 pediatric subtest in comparison with the US/Canadian mean. Similar decreases in performance in overall and USMLE Step 2 internal medicine subtest scores also occurred. Numerous confounding variables make it difficult to determine the effect of the shelf exam on Step 2 performance.
Is welfare a legitimate Government goal

Charles Murray has followed up his book, Losing Ground: American Social Policy 1950–1980, which played a major role in the attack on the effectiveness of recent social policy, with a more ambitious book, In Pursuit of Happiness and Good Government, which extends and generalizes the analysis of the first. His starting point is to ask what we are ultimately aiming at in social policy. Our evaluations of the effectiveness of social policies generally consider proximate and intermediate aims rather than ultimate ends: for example, we ask if a welfare program provides enough food and shelter. Yet our actual end is the promotion of the happiness of the recipients, which requires, Murray argues, not the most extensive provision of aid but rather policies that enable people, acting together in voluntary communities, to create the institutions which best satisfy their needs. Murray sees little role for government in social policy, even in areas (such as education) in which this role is widely accepted. He may be s...
A graphical optimization procedure for time-temperature rupture parameters

Abstract It is shown that several of the most common time-temperature parameters express one variable as the product of functions of two others. One such general equation is T = H ( σ ) · C (t R ) and this can be solved graphically from a set of isothermal rupture curves without specifying the form of the stress and rupture-time functions. For two nickel-base superalloys this equation is solved and yields a modified Manson-Haferd parameter. The Larson-Miller parameter does not accurately describe the data. If one of the common parametric forms applies, it is shown how the optimum value of the appropriate constant is obtained from the equation of a straight line. The general equation is also capable of yielding more complex parameters and may provide a useful approach to the handling of metallurgical instabilities.
Pulsed Gas Laser Magnetic Resonance Spectrometer

A dual-beam pulsed gas laser magnetic resonance spectrometer that incorporates both sample and reference channels has been constructed for magnetooptic studies of solids. This system provides approximately one-hundred far-ir frequencies for spectroscopic use. The various components of the system are described, and particular consideration is given to those techniques that are important for good signal-to-noise ratios. The usefulness of the system is illustrated by results from experiments that have been performed.
The Wisconsin Idea: Extending the Boundaries of a University

In 1862, through the Morrill (Land-Grant) Act, the United States provided 30,000 acres of land within each congressional district so each state could use the proceeds to establish a state college of agriculture and mechanical arts. These so-called ‘land-grant universities’ have now expanded (academically and physically) to such a degree that many have ‘spawned’ large multicampus state university systems. This paper tells how a pioneer land-grant institution, the University of Wisconsin at Madison, developed a world renowned outreach program and how the spirit and resources of that campus extension movement then spread to other campuses of the UW System.
GEOMETRIC INVARIANT SIGNATURES AND FLOWS: CLASSIFICATION AND APPLICATIONS IN IMAGE ANALYSIS

Based on modern invariant theory and symmetry groups, a high level way of defining invariant geometric flows for a given Lie group is described in this work. We then analyze in more detail different subgroups of the projective group, which are of special interest for computer vision. We classify the corresponding invariant flows and show that the geometric heat flow is the simplest possible one. Results on invariant geometric flows of surfaces are presented in this paper as well. We then show how the planar curve flow obtained for the affine group can be used for geometric smoothing of planar shapes and edge preserving enhancement of MRI. We conclude the paper with the presentation of an affine invariant geometric edge detector obtained from the classification of affine differential invariants.© (1994) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.
The Two Faces of Estradiol: Effects on the Developing Brain

Estradiol is a potent steroid of both gonadal and neuronal origin that exerts profound and enduring effects on the brain as it develops. Differences in estradiol production in males and females underlie the establishment of many sexually dimorphic brain characteristics. Two paradigm shifts in the understanding of estradiol and its actions have expanded the view from one of slow narrowly controlled nuclear transcription to include rapid effects initiated at the membrane and inducible by locally synthesized steroid. A survey of estradiol actions reveals regional specificity underlying opposing effects such that estradiol induces cell death in one region but prevents it in another or promotes synaptogenesis in one region but retards it in the other. Similarly, estradiol is neuroprotective or neurodamaging and enhances excitation or dampens excitation, depending on the model and neurotransmitter under study. Understanding the diverse actions of estradiol in different brain regions under differing conditions is essential to harnessing the tremendous therapeutic potential of this endogenous naturally occurring and efficacious neural modulator.
Accuracy of an approximate static structural analysis technique based on stiffness matrix eigenmodes

Use of the stiffness matrix eigenmodes, instead of the vibration eigenmodes, as generalized coordinates is proposed for condensation of static load deflection equations in finite element stiffness method. The modes are selected by strain energy criteria and the resulting fast, approximate analysis technique is evaluated by applications to idealized built-up wings and a fuselage segment. The best results obtained are a two-order of magnitude reduction of the number of degrees of freedom in a high aspect ratio wing associated with less than one percent error in prediction of the largest displacement.
UNDERCOVER DECEPTION: Reconsidering Presentations of Self

This article addresses the deception strategies deployed by undercover narcotics agents located in a moderate-sized midwestern municipality and offers a typology of deception based on four central ...
The tetratricopeptide repeat domains of rapsyn bind directly to cytoplasmic sequences of the muscle-specific kinase

Clustering of acetylcholine receptors at the developing vertebrate neuromuscular junction is initiated by neural agrin, which stimulates the activity of the muscle-specific kinase (MuSK). Acetylcholine receptor clustering is also dependent on the postsynaptic scaffolding protein, rapsyn, which binds to acetylcholine receptors. Here, we address the possibility that MuSK and rapsyn bind directly to each other by coexpressing sequences of the cytoplasmic domain of MuSK with rapsyn in COS-7 cells and assaying for codistribution and biochemical interaction. Sequences constituting the bulk of the kinase domain can interact with rapsyn. This interaction is mediated by the tetratricopeptide repeat domains, but not the coiled coil or zinc finger domains, of rapsyn. This interaction does not require tyrosine phosphorylation of the MuSK sequences. Binding is direct, as indicated by blot overlay and surface plasmon resonance experiments. The sequence of the cytoplasmic domain of MuSK that most effectively codistributes with rapsyn confers the ability of an otherwise inactive receptor tyrosine kinase, TrkA, to associate with rapsyn. Our results support a model in which the tetratricopeptide repeat domains of rapsyn bind directly to the cytoplasmic portion of MuSK, which could thereby serve as an initial scaffold for the clustering of acetylcholine receptors.
NEUROPHYSIOLOGY AND HUMAN TASTE SENSATIONS

Taste sensations are of primary importance in food flavor. Any attempt to synthesize chemically the flavor of a natural food involves mainly taste active compounds. Many distinct taste sensations can be identified as associated with food compounds. Thirteen different taste sensations are discussed herein. These different taste sensations are differentiated on the basis of stimulus chemistry and peripheral nerve conveying the taste information. Neurophysiological examination of the peripheral nerves involved in taste reveals that the sensory neurons can, in any species, be subdivided into distinct neural groups. These different neural groups respond to distinct classes of chemicals and often display different neurophysiological characteristics. Altogether in four different species, nine functional neural taste groups can be distinguished. In many cases, these neural groups can be taken as analogs for the neural groups assumed to underly human taste sensations. Distinct human taste sensations can be considered to arise from the excitation or inhibition of different neural groups. For certain human taste sensations there are no animal neural analog groups; and for certain neural groups there are no analog human sensations.
Employment Among Chronic Drug Users at Baseline and 6-Month Follow-Up

Most studies of unemployment among chronic drug users (CDUs) are drug-user treatment–based and there is little information on employment/unemployment among CDUs not in treatment. Between June 2003 and September 2004, 492 CDUs in Miami–Dade, Florida, were administered a quantitative survey at baseline and 6 months later; employment status was measured. Descriptive statistics showed that only 15% were employed at both periods, an equal percentage becoming employed and unemployed at 6 months. The majority of CDUs were unemployed at both time periods. Men were more likely than women to exhibit consistent employment over the two time periods. The study's limitations are noted and future research is suggested. This study was IRB-approved and funded by the National Institute on Drug Abuse.
Brotizolam, a triazolothienodiazepine, in insomnia.

Sixty-three outpatients with chronic insomnia were treated for 3 weeks under double-blind conditions with either brotizolam (n = 29) at a dose of 0.25 mg or 0.5 mg or placebo (n = 34). A 3-day placebo period preceded and followed the double-blind treatment phase. Brotizolam consistently produced significantly more sleep improvement than placebo but also more adverse effects. In those patients switched abruptly from brotizolam to placebo, rebound insomnia was observed, being most marked at the first post-brotizolam placebo night. Clinical Pharmacology and Therapeutics (1986) 40, 293–299; doi:10.1038/clpt.1986.179
Phase Transitions in Systems with 1/ r α Attractive Interactions

We study the gravitational collapse — like phase transitions in the microcanonical ensemble for a class of systems of N particles with nonintegrable attractive pair potentials 1/r α, with 0 < α < 3 in three dimensions. Introducing a continuum description and a mean field approximation in the limit N to infinity, an integral equation for the density profile of the particles is obtained, which is solved numerically. For all 0 < α < 3 and sufficiently small short range cutoffs r 0, there appears to be cutoff-independent critical energy, below which the system jumps discontinuously from a normal uniform to a collapsed core — halo state. This gravitational-like transition will become a normal first order transition when the cutoff range r 0 becomes larger than some critical value r 0c which is an increasing function of α.
MELD score as a predictor of early death in patients undergoing elective transjugular intrahepatic portosystemic shunt (TIPS) procedures.

Purpose To Evaluate the MELD score as a predictor of 30-day mortality in patients undergoing elective TIPS procedures.
Silastic cuffed catheters for hemodialysis vascular access: Thrombolytic and mechanical correction of malfunction

Abstract Silastic cuffed catheters are assuming a greater role in providing long-term vascular access for hemodialysis patients. However, catheter thrombosis, fibrin sheath formation, and catheter malposition are recurrent problems that reduce extracorporeal flow rates and shorten catheter life. We reviewed 163 consecutive episodes of catheter malfunction that occurred in 121 catheters in 88 patients over a 3.5-year period. Intraluminal instillation of urokinase was successful in reestablishing an extracorporeal flow rate of ≥300 mL/min in 74% of episodes. The 42 remaining episodes (26%) were radiologically evaluated. Two catheters required replacement for catheter kinking or insufficient catheter length. Two additional catheters were malpositioned; both were successfully repositioned with percutaneous techniques. A fibrin sheath was detected encasing the catheter in 38 instances. The fibrin sheath was successfully stripped from the distal portion of the catheter in 36 of the 38 instances. Using endoluminal thrombolytic therapy and percutaneous mechanical techniques, we have extended the mean survival for catheters intended for permanent vascular access to 12.7 months and have allowed 95% of the catheters inserted for temporary use to reach their use goal. Tunnel tract infection and catheter-mediated bacteremia were the primary reasons for catheter removal.
Circulating Sézary cells in hospitalized dermatology patients

Sezary cells in the circulation were counted daily in 14 hospitalized dermatology patients: six with contact dermatitis, five with atopic dermatitis, and three with exfoliative psoriasis. All had circulating Sezary cells, but absolute counts of Sezary cells of more than 1000/mm3 appeared to correlate with a severe refractory course in two patients. It is probable that low, intermittent levels of circulating Sezary cells accompany many inflammatory dermatoses, and it is reasonable that monitoring this cell population may aid in anticipating more consequential skin disease.
The Application of Inverse Convolution Techniques to Improve Signal Response of Recorded Geophysical Data

The process of restoring signal resolution to data recorded from a sluggish measuring device may be accomplished by appropriate mathematical operations on the data using a large digital computer. Smoothing techniques may be applied in the transform domain to derive an inverse convolver to be used in real space. The inverse convolver, a non-physically realizable filter function, when convolved with the output of the device, restores high-frequency components necessary for sharp detail. Only knowledge of the impulse response of the device and the recorded data is required. In applications to data of the type found in many geophysical systems impressive results are obtained even in the presence of considerable random noise. This procedure represents a different approach to the approximation required by the process and has advantages in the ease and simplicity with which it may be applied.
Hollow waveguide optimization for fluorescence based detection

Previously, we created antiresonant reflecting optical waveguides (ARROWs) with hollow cores that guide light through gas and liquid media. We have demonstrated that these ARROWs can be used in sensing applications with single particle sensitivity using fluorescence correlation spectroscopy. To increase sensitivity for single molecule sensing, we have improved our initial designs and fabrication methods to decrease ARROW background fluorescence and improve transitions between solid and hollow waveguides. Photoluminescence of ARROW layers creates background fluorescence that masks the desired fluorescence signals. To improve sensitivity, we have optimized the PECVD ARROW layers to minimize the photoluminescence of each layer. Sensing applications require that hollow waveguides interface with solid waveguides on the substrate to direct light into and out of test media. Our previous ARROW designs required light at these interfaces to pass through the anti-resonant layers. Although in theory, high transmission through ARROW layers can be achieved, in practice, passing through these layers has limited transmission efficiencies. A new design coats the top and sides of the hollow core with only silicon dioxide, allowing light at interfaces to pass directly from silicon dioxide into the hollow core. This new design exhibits good mode confinement in the hollow core.
Forced Assembly of Polymer Nanolayers Thinner Than the Interphase

When two polymers are brought into intimate contact, the interface is not perfectly sharp. Instead, localized molecular mixing produces an interphase with thickness on the order of 10 nm. Forced assembly by layer multiplying coextrusion makes it possible to create films that are entirely interphase. The new interphase materials can be characterized using conventional tools of polymer analysis. In this study we vary the ratio of poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) to polycarbonate (PC) in the coextrusion process in order to obtain very thin PMMA nanolayers sandwiched between thicker (∼50 nm) PC layers. We use oxygen permeability to probe the nature of the interphase as the PMMA layer thickness is reduced below the interphase thickness to the limit of layer stability. If the PMMA nanolayers are made thinner than the 12 nm interphase dimension, they more closely resemble a thin interphase region sandwiched between thicker PC layers than they do discrete PMMA layers. The interphase region becomes progressively t...
Imino proton NMR assignments and ion-binding studies on Escherichia coli tRNA3Gly

The imino region of the proton NMR spectrum of Escherichia coli tRNA3Gly has been assigned mainly by sequential nuclear Overhauser effects between neighbouring base pairs and by comparison of assignments of other tRNAs. The effects of magnesium, spermine and temperature on the 1H and 31P NMR spectra of this tRNA were studied. Both ions affect resonances close to the G15 . C48 tertiary base pair and in the ribosylthymine loop. The magnesium studies indicate the presence of an altered tRNA conformer at low magnesium concentrations in equilibrium with the high magnesium form. The temperature studies show that the A7 . U66 imino proton (from a secondary base pair) melts before some of the tertiary hydrogen bonds and that the anticodon stem does not melt sequentially from the ends. Correlation of the ion effects in the 1H and 31P NMR spectra has led to the tentative assignment of two 31P resonances not assigned in the comparable 31P NMR spectrum of yeast tRNAPhe. 31P NMR spectra of E. coli tRNA3Gly lack resolved peaks corresponding to peaks C and F in the spectra of E. coli tRNAPhe and yeast tRNAPhe. In the latter tRNAs these peaks have been assigned to phosphate groups in the anticodon loop. Ion binding E. coli tRNA3Gly and E. coli tRNAPhe had different effects on their 1H NMR spectra which may reflect further differences in their charge distribution and conformation.
The Second Virial Coefficient of Argon

The second virial coefficient of argon is calculated from the energy expression obtained for frozen argon.
Mobility and Strain Effects on /(110) SiGe channel pMOSFETs for High Current Enhancement

Mobility and strain mechanisms of SiGe channel pMOSFETs fabricated with channel direction on (110) Si substrate ( /(110) SiGe channel) have been studied in details for the first time. The combination of substrate orientation, high mobility channel material and extrinsic stained-Si process demonstrates the ultra high mobility enhancement and results in 80% current gain. The piezoresistance coefficients of /(110) SiGe channel p-MOSFETs were also studied to analyze the strain effect on current enhancement. We also compared the derived piezoresistance coefficients results of SiGe channel on (100) and (110) surfaces.
Energy-efficient dynamic scheduling on parallel machines

Energy consumption is a critical issue in parallel and distributedsystems. Workflows consist of a number of tasks that need to be executed tocomplete an application. These tasks typically have precedence relationshipsthat have to be observed during execution for correctness. DAGs (DirectedAcyclic Graphs) can be used to represent many such workflows. The staticalgorithms to schedule for energy minimization under the deadline constraintsare based on estimating worst case execution time for each task to guaranteethat the application completes by a given deadline. During execution, manytasks may complete earlier than expected during the actual execution. Thisallows for adjusting the schedule for the tasks that have not yet begun executionto incorporate the extra slack. This has to be done with the dual goal ofreducing the energy requirements while still meeting the deadline constraints. Inthis paper, we present a novel dynamic algorithm for remapping tasks forenergy efficient scheduling of DAG based applications for DVS enabledsystems. Our experimental results show that the combination of our dynamicassignment and dynamic slack allocation leads to significantly better energyminimization compared to not changing the static schedule and/or onlyperforming dynamic slack allocation. Furthermore, its execution timerequirements are small enough to be useful for a large number of applications.
Fiscal disequilibrium in developing countries

Abstract Fiscal equilibrium necessitates that ‘permanent’ government expenditures be covered by ‘permanent’ government revenues. The concept of ‘permanent’ goverment expenditures and revenues takes into account future revenue from capital investments as well as temporary windfalls. Hence, equilibrium may exist despite temporary imbalance between revenue and expenditure. The causes of disequilibrium can be classified into five categories: export boom; price-inelastic tax system; public enterprise performance; increased expenditure produced by political exigencies or administrative weaknesses; and worsening terms of trade. In practice, unrealistic customs valuations, specific as opposed to ad valorem taxes and administrative difficulties have been the most common sources of declining government revenue as a percentage of gross domestic product. Increased subsidies both to consumer goods and to public enterprises as well as inadequate control mechanisms have been the most frequent causes of rising government expenditure.