cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Electroencephalography in Childhood Conduct and Behavior Disorders

The pathophysiology of behavior disorders in children is controversial. In particular, the relationship of episodic behavior disturbance to epilepsy and chronic behavior problems to subclinical neurologic disorder has been debated. It has been suggested that EEG may assist in this sometimes difficult determination. We report on routine screening EEGs in children hospitalized over an 18-month period for behavior problems. Eighty-six children were admitted for conduct disorder, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, or both. Seventy-eight tracings (91%) were normal or showed normal variant patterns. Eight records (9%) were abnormal, showing background slowing or paroxysmal discharges not associated with behavioral manifestations. None of these neurologically normal, nonretarded patients had epilepsy or other known cerebral disorder. This suggests that routine EEG screening may be of limited value in childhood behavior problems without clinical evidence of neurologic disorder.
A qubit device based on manipulations of Andreev bound states in double-barrier Josephson junctions

Abstract A qubit system exploiting manipulations of the Andreev bound state (ABS) levels in the SINIS junction by applying appropriate bias voltages and transport currents is suggested. The parameters of the SINIS setup may be chosen in such a way that only two ABS levels are present; this is in agreement with our experimental data obtained using Nb/Al double-barrier junctions. In the qubit Hamiltonian, H , the two ABS levels are presented as the ‘↑’ and ‘↓’ spin states, while the controlling physical parameters (voltage across one of the barriers and the transport current) are mapped to the ‘magnetic fields’ B x n and B z n . The phase decoherence time is estimated.
Conformational Adaptation of Human Cytochrome P450 2B6 and Rabbit Cytochrome P450 2B4 Revealed Upon Binding Multiple Amlodipine Molecules

Structures of human cytochrome P450 2B6 and rabbit cytochrome P450 2B4 in complex with two molecules of the calcium channel blocker amlodipine have been determined by X-ray crystallography. The presence of two drug molecules suggests clear substrate access channels in each P450. According to a previously established nomenclature, amlodipine molecules were trapped in access pathway 2f in P450 2B6 and in pathway 2a or 2f in P450 2B4. These pathways overlap for part of the length and then diverge as they extend toward the protein surface. A previously described solvent channel was also found in each enzyme. The results indicate that key residues located on the surface and at the entrance of the substrate access channels in each of these P450s may play a crucial role in guiding substrate entry. In addition, the region of P450 2B6 and 2B4 involving helices B', F, F', and G' and part of helix G is substantially more open in the amlodipine complexes than in the corresponding 4-(4-chlorophenyl)imidazole complexes. The increased active site volume observed results from the major retraction of helices F, F', and B' and the β4 sheet region located close to the binding cavity to accommodate amlodipine. These structures demonstrate novel insight into distinct conformational states not observed with previous P450 2B structures and provide clear evidence of the substrate access channels in two drug-metabolizing P450s. In addition, the structures exhibit the versatility that can be exploited via in silico studies with other P450 2B6 ligands as large as raloxifene and itraconazole.
Novel Antiviral Agents for Respiratory Viral Infection in Immunocompromised Adults

Respiratory viruses cause significant morbidity and mortality in immunocompromised populations such as stem cell transplant and solid organ transplant patients. Few viruses causing respiratory tract infection have an approved therapy, and many of the viruses have no therapeutic options at all. In this article, we describe novel agents under development for treatment options against several respiratory viruses.
On the origins of trapped helium, neon and argon isotopic variations in meteorites—I. Gas-rich meteorites, lunar soil and breccia

Abstract Data are presented from stepwise heating experiments and total extractions on five meteorites: Kapoeta, Fayetteville, Holman Island, Cee Vee and Pultusk. These data reveal the presence of four isotopically distinct trapped neon components. A comparison of trapped neon with trapped helium and argon in bulk analyses indicates the existence of correlated helium, neon and argon isotopic structures. The major trapped components in gas-rich meteorites and the LFB (lunar fines and breccia) are found to have the following isotopic compositions 3 He 4 He (× 10 4 ) sol 20 Ne 22 Ne 21 Ne 22 Ne 36 Ar 38 Ar Component B 3.9 ± 0.3 12.52 ± 0.18 0.0335 ± 0.0015 5.37 ± 0.12 Component C 4.1 ± 1.0 10.6 ± 0.3 0.042 ± 0.003 4.1 ± 0.8 Component D 1.5 ± 1.0 14.5 ± 1.0 − 6 ± 1 Component B is attributed primarily to direct implantation of rare gas ions by the present day solar wind. Component C is identified with directly implanted low energy (1–10 Mev/n) solar flare rare gases. Component D is associated with rare gas ions implanted in meteoritic material by the primitive, pre-main sequence, solar wind. A fourth component, observed only in Kapoeta and the LFB, is tentatively attributed to parent body ‘atmospheric’ ions implanted in surface material by a solar wind induced electric field.
Decision Making about Surgery for Early-Stage Breast Cancer

Background Practice variation in breast cancer surgery has raised concerns about the quality of treatment decisions. We sought to evaluate the quality of decisions about surgery for early-stage breast cancer by measuring patient knowledge, concordance between goals and treatments, and involvement in decisions. Study Design A mailed survey of stage I/II breast cancer survivors was conducted at 4 sites. The Decision Quality Instrument measured knowledge, goals, and involvement in decisions. A multivariable logistic regression model of treatment was developed. The model-predicted probability of mastectomy was compared with treatment received for each patient. Concordance was defined as having mastectomy and predicted probability >0.5 or partial mastectomy and predicted probability Results Four hundred and forty patients participated (59% response rate). Mean overall knowledge was 52.7%; 45.9% knew that local recurrence risk is higher after breast conservation and 55.7% knew that survival is equivalent for the 2 options. Most participants (89.0%) had treatment concordant with their goals. Participants preferring mastectomy had lower concordance (80.5%) than those preferring partial mastectomy (92.6%; p=0.001). Participants reported more frequent discussion of partial mastectomy and its advantages than of mastectomy, and 48.6% reported being asked their preference. Conclusions Breast cancer survivors had major knowledge deficits, and those preferring mastectomy were less likely to have treatment concordant with goals. Patients perceived that discussions focused on partial mastectomy, and many were not asked their preference. Improvements in the quality of decisions about breast cancer surgery are needed.
Spontaneous Pulsation of the Retinal Veins

The classical theory of spontaneous pulsation of the retinal veins is that during systole intraocular pressure exceeds venous pressure, causing the veins to collapse. We show that this theory is internally inconsistent and not in accord with experimental data. It is inconsistent in assuming both (a) that oscillations of intraocular pressure (IOP) occur because the veins cannot immediately discharge the systolic arterial inflow and (b) that retinal venous pressure (RVP) can fluctuate independently of IOP during the cardiac cycle. It is not in accord with experimental data, which shows that RVP always exceeds IOP and that fluctuations in the latter are instantly transmitted to the former. We present an alternative theory that does not have these problems. We assume the following. (1) Inflow to the retinal venous tree from the capillaries is constant, the pulsatile arterial flow having been completely damped by the arterioles and capillaries. (2) Outflow from the central retinal vein (CRV) varies during the cardiac cycle because oscillations of IOP, transmitted to the intraocular CRV, are of greater amplitude than oscillations in cerebrospinal fluid pressure, transmitted to the extraocular CRV. By showing that the radial blood flow distending the veins obeys a diffusion equation and by employing an "equivalent cylinder" analysis of the branched venous tree to simplify the boundary conditions, we demonstrate that, with the above assumptions and the additional assumption of low amplitude of radial flow, the CRV will pulsate, and the pulsations will remain confined to a small segment near the exit point. The proposed theory can explain disappearance of pulsation with intracranial hypertension, intensification of pulsation in glaucoma, and variability in the linear extent and amplitude of pulsation among normal individuals. The theory may also be applied to other venous pulsations, such as the respiratory pulsation of the terminal portions of large veins entering the thorax or the cardiac cycle pulsation of the superior vena cava.
Black Ink and Red Ink (BIRI) Testing: A Testing Method to Evaluate Both Recall and Recognition Learning in Accelerated Adult-Learning Courses

Abstract We propose, develop, and evaluate the black ink–red ink (BIRI) method of testing. This approach uses two different methods within the same test administration setting, one that matches recognition learning and the other that matches recall learning. Students purposively define their own tradeoff between the two approaches. Evaluation of the method in several different class content and class format settings demonstrates the value of the method in actual classroom settings. In particular, the BIRI approach can substantially reduce test anxiety in accelerated adult-learning settings.
From decay to growth: A demographic transition to economic growth

Abstract Altruistic parents rationally choose fertility and human capital investments in their children. A rising rate of return to human capital investment and a conditional external effect in human capital investment produce: 1. (1) two development regimes, a Malthusian regime of high fertility and no human capital investment and a perpetual growth regime of low fertility and rising human capital 2. (2) conditional human capital convergence within regimes. 3. (3) a demographic transition to economic growth 4. (4) accelerating growth. As richer countries grow, the conditional external effect continually raises the rate of return on human capital and causes a demographic transition to economic growth by Malthusian countries.
Derivation of relativistic charge-monopole and monopole-monopole potentials from field theory

Abstract Relativistic potentials (generalizing the Breit-potential of quantum electrodynamics) between spin 1 2 - electric and magnetic charges are presented, each monopole gj having its own singularity-string along some direction nj. The monopole potentials involve integrations along the singularities. By using suitable gauge transformations and limiting procedures a simple form of the potential independent of nj is derived, if the string connects two monopoles.
Toward a greater understanding of the parentsof the mentally retarded child

Summary Three perspectives of parents' reaction to retardation are presented, followed by the three stages parents must go through in order to achieve mature understanding of the problem. Finally, some guidelines for counseling are presented: (1) the diagnostic and counseling process in mental retardation is a repetitive one which requires considerable patience on the part of the physician, (2) the physician may misunderstand the stage at which the parents are, leading to a poor encounter between them, (3) the physician's reaction to the child's handicap may mirror the mother's state or his own anxiety and guilt.
Doppler-derived flow pattern in the descending aorta does not predict systemic to pulmonary arterial collateral flow in patients with single ventricle palliation: a cross-sectional study.

Background: Children with single ventricle heart disease are at risk for developing systemic to pulmonary arterial collateral vessels that adversely impact short-term outcomes, although the effect on long-term outcomes remains unclear. Collateral flow (CollF) can be quantified using cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR) flow quantification. The velocity–time integral (VTI), obtained from spectral Doppler tracings, has been used in ‘‘runoff’’ lesions like aortic regurgitation to quantify insufficiency. We hypothesized that the VTI ratio of the proximal descending aorta (DAo) after cavopulmonary anastomosis (CPA) would estimate CollF. Methods: A retrospective cross-sectional study was conducted. Patients who had a superior CPA or total CPA and underwent CMR between April 2008 and December 2012 were included. Those with greater than trivial semilunar valve insufficiency or aortic arch obstruction were excluded. In a subset (n ¼ 88), spectral Doppler tracings of the DAo were analyzed to determine the VTI ratio. In another subset (n ¼ 112), CMR was used to determine the ratio of retrograde to antegrade flow in the DAo. Results: There was no linear correlation between VTI ratio and CollF (r 2 ¼ .006, P ¼ .46). There was a weakly positive correlation with CollF (r 2 ¼ .07, P ¼ .007) and the CMR measured ratio of retrograde to antegrade flow. Holodiastolic flow reversal by echo did not predict higher CollF (P ¼ .40), but those with holodiastolic flow reversal by CMR had significantly higher CollF (P ¼ .04). Conclusions: The ratio of reverse to forward flow in the DAo as determined by Doppler echo does not accurately reflect CollF in children with single ventricle after CPA.
Movement and lexical access: do noniconic gestures aid in retrieval?

The production of meaningful gestures has been claimed to enhance lexical access. However, the possibility that meaningless movements also improve retrieval has been largely ignored despite evidence that all types of movements increase with dysfluency. To examine this issue, we conducted two experiments to determine whether movements in general would improve lexical access in a tip–of–thetongue (TOT) paradigm. TOT states were induced by presenting definitions of rare words that participants were then asked to recall. Participants who were required to tap at their own pace while retrieving words obtained significantly higher resolution rates than those who were immobile. Thus, movement does not have to be semantically related to the lexical item in order to aid in retrieval. However, tapping did not improve lexical access in all retrieval tasks. In a lexical retrieval task that relied more on executive abilities (letter fluency), participants who tapped retrieved fewer words than those who were immobile. The fact that movement enhanced lexical access only when retrieval depended on the automatic spread of activation suggests that facilitation may occur because of the activation of neural areas common to both speech and movement.
Defection, Termination, and Continuation in Family and Individual Therapy

Patients applying to a child study center over a period of one year were referred for either individual or family evaluation and therapy. The present study focused on comparative rates of defection (failure to appear for first session), premature termination (one to three sessions), and continuation (more than three sessions) of treatment. Structured interviews were conducted on the telephone to explore the reasons for termination or continued treatment. Three main findings emerged: (a) Drop-out rates for family therapy are significantly different than for individual treatment; (b) Major reasons for terminating or continuing treatment, in either modality, seem related to patients evaluations of their therapists; (c) Fathers of patients play a pivotal role in determining whether families terminate or continue in treatment.
Valve Surgery in Octogenarians with a “Porcelain” Aorta and Aortic Insufficiency

We report the technique of balloon occlusion of the ascending aorta in two patients requiring valve operations. In the first patient, it provided a rapid solution to unexpected and potentially catastrophic severe aortic insufficiency (AI) with the initiation of cardiopulmonary bypass in a patient who required aortic valve replacement using deep hypothermic circulatory arrest due to a "porcelain" aorta. In the second patient, it allowed for a routine mitral valve repair to be performed by providing aortic occlusion in the setting of AI and avoiding the devastating consequences of cross-clamping a "porcelain" aorta.
Hierarchical classification and the integration of self-structure in late adolescence

A number of empirical studies have demonstrated that one's self-concept is multi-dimensional in nature, varies according to social context, and shows increased differentiation throughout adolescence. There has been relatively less work, however, examining the integration of multi-dimensional social selves. Rosenberg and Gara's (1985) model of the multidimensional self (a model that utilizes a statistical procedure called "hierarchical classification" or HICLAS) was employed to investigate the integration of social selves during late adolescence. First- and fourth-year college students (n=128) completed a computer program designed to collect data required to construct HICLAS "self-structures". The findings indicated that the social selves of fourth-year college students were more related conceptually and were more differentiated than the social selves of first-year students. The differences between first- and fourth-year students suggested that hierarchical classification procedures could be used to address developmental hypotheses.
Necrotizing fasciitis in gynecologic and obstetric patients: a surgical emergency.

Abstract Objective: We reviewed the cases of 23 patients who were admitted to the hospital with a primary diagnosis of histopathologically confirmed necrotizing fasciitis in the lower abdomen or pelvis. Rapid demise of a healthy postpartum women piqued our interest in trying to identify the early signs and symptoms that may lead to earlier diagnosis and treatment of this often fatal disease. Study Design: A retrospective analysis of charts of all patients who were admitted to the gynecology and obstetrics services of our hospital systems with a diagnosis of necrotizing fasciitis for the past 14 years was performed. Age, comorbid factors, precipitating events, weight, symptoms and signs, microbiologic factors, radiographs, surgical therapy, and morbidity were correlated. Results: Definitive operation was accomplished within 48 hours of the diagnosis of necrotizing fasciitis in all but 3 patients. Of the 17 patients who were not puerperal, 88% of the women were obese; 65% of the women were hypertensive, and 47% of the women were diabetic. Of the total 23 patients, 70% of the women complained of severe pain, and 35% of the women had radiographic diagnostics for necrotizing fasciitis ("gas"). Four patients had diverting colostomies, and 39% of the patients had flaps or synthetic grafts. Three patients died (mortality rate, 13%). One patient who was puerperal died of a severe rapid septicemia; the 2 late deaths were the result of systemic candidiasis. Conclusion: Necrotizing fasciitis is a rapidly progressive, often lethal, infectious disease process that requires early aggressive debridement. Any patient with inordinate pain and unilateral edema in the pelvis, especially in the puerperium, should be suspected of having this disease. Radiographic studies are often diagnostic of this condition. The triad of pelvic pain, edema, and any sign of septicemia carries an extremely grave prognosis and mandates immediate surgical intervention. (Am J Obstet Gynecol 2002;187:305-11.)
THE REGION AS AN EXPORT PLATFORM TO THE WORLD? THE CASE OF MERCOSUR

An argument often brought forward, when discussing the benefits of regional integration in Latin America, is that the formation of a larger market may serve as a platform for (potential) exporters to world markets (Devlin and FfrenchDavis, 1999). According to this view, illustrated by the quote of Mr. Henriquez in the Financial Times (and referring to Central American trade integration), the region can serve as a "classroom" for potential exporters, where they can learn "how to export". Trade preference encourage exports within the region and thereby exporters can accumulate the necessary experience and reputation to become reliable and competitive suppliers in world markets. An alternative view, illustrated by Mr. Guidotti 's quote in the Wall Street Journal , is that the regional trade preferences only help promote low-quality intraregional exports. As tariff preferences increase, uncompetitive exporters enter the regional market. These exporters will not be able to penetrate more distant markets with their products and trade preferences will only encourage trade diversion.
Interacting with software system components

An ideal user interface is a crucial factor to support the functionality of software systems for computerized decision making process. A recent trend has been to develop intelligent and flexible user interface on the top of software systems. However, as noted by Woods, a technology driven approach to the development of intelligent interfaces is likely to provide the illusion of assistance while creating a new layer of burdens and complexities. To avoid creating an ever thickening layer of user interface, we have explored an approach which incorporates user interface into software system components design. In this article we point out that existing approaches in related work can be systematically expanded to form an alternative paradigm for interface design. In particular, we discuss a concept called user interface wrapper for software components. Due to the importance and popularity of expert systems, our discussion is mainly around interface design of expert systems, although the basic idea can be extended to designing other software systems as well. According to this approach, each major component of an expert system (including the knowledge base, the inference engine and the explanation unit) is wrapped by a layer of user interface. A case study is provided, in which the user interface wrappers are implemented as windows of system components. A discussion on pros and cons of this approach is provided.
Gramicidin D enhances the antibacterial activity of fluoride

Fluoride is a toxic anion found in many natural environments. One of the major bacterial defenses against fluoride is the cell envelope, which limits passage of the membrane-impermeant fluoride anion. Accordingly, compounds that enhance the permeability of bacterial membranes to fluoride should also enhance fluoride toxicity. In this study, we demonstrate that the pore-forming antibiotic gramicidin D increases fluoride uptake in Bacillus subtilis and that the antibacterial activity of this compound is potentiated by fluoride. Polymyxin B, another membrane-targeting antibiotic with a different mechanism of action, shows no such improvement. These results, along with previous findings, indicate that certain compounds that destabilize bacterial cell envelopes can enhance the toxicity of fluoride.
Long-term survival after surgical management of neuroendocrine hepatic metastases

Abstract Background Surgical cytoreduction and endocrine blockade are important options for care for neuroendocrine liver metastases. We investigated the long-term survival of patients surgically treated for hepatic neuroendocrine metastases. Methods Patients ( n = 172) undergoing operations for neuroendocrine liver metastases from any primary were identified from a prospective liver database. Recorded data and medical record review were used to analyse the type of procedure, length of hospital stay, peri-operative morbidity, tumour recurrence, progression,and survival. Results The median age was 56.8 years (range 11.5–80.7 years). 48.3% of patients were female. Median overall survival was 9.6 years (range 89 days to 22 years). On multivariate analysis, lung/thymic primaries were associated with worse survival [hazard ratio (HR): 15.6, confidence interval (CI): 4.3–56.8, P = 0.002]. Severe post-operative complications were also associated with worse long-term survival ( P P ∼ 0.8). Discussion Early and aggressive surgical management of hepatic metastases from neuroendocrine tumours is associated with significant long-term survival rates. Radiofrequency ablation is a reasonable option if a lesion is unresectable. R1 resections, unlike many other cancers, are not associated with a worse overall survival.
Curvature-induced asymptotic freedom.

We show that for a pure gauge theory in a general curved space-time, the effective value of the gauge coupling constant can become small as a result of high curvature.
Design of the Far Ultraviolet Spectroscopic Explorer spectrograph

The Far Ultraviolet Spectrograph Explorer (FUSE) is a delta class explorer mission that will perform 30,000 resolution spectroscopy from 900 - 1248 angstroms with unprecedented sensitivity. The design presented here derives from requirements necessary to meet the science objectives and technical and programmatic considerations. Meeting these various requirements has resulted in a design that is completely different from the Phase A concept, which proved to be infeasible within the FUSE constraints. We present the design philosophy, current design parameters for the instrument, and raytrace analyses of the instrument spectral and imaging performance.© (1994) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.
Predicting corn and soybean productivity for Illinois soils

Abstract Current corn and soybean productivity data is needed in Illinois for land-use planning, sustainable farm management, and accurate land appraisal. The out-of-date source of soil productivity data is Circular 1156 Soil Productivity in Illinois ( Fehrenbacher et al., 1978 , Soil productivity in Illinois. UIUC. College of Agriculture. COOP. EXT. SERV. Circular 1156). A new major analysis based on current Illinois farmer crop-yield data is needed to assure the availability of reliable 10-year average corn and soybean yield estimates by soils. The overall objective of this study was to update the corn and soybean yields which serve as a productivity index for Illinois soils since these two crops are grown on approximately 90% of the cropland. An approach based on multiple regression was used to evaluate the relationship between 16 selected soil properties of 34 major soils and established 1970s (1967–1976) corn and soybean yields as published in Circular 1156. Statistical models developed from major soils were tested internally by calculating the 10-year average corn and soybean yields for each of the 34 major soils. The coefficients generated from multiple regression were further tested using the soil property values for the additional 165 soils identified in nine counties representing the crop reporting districts and weather districts in Illinois. The 10-year average crop yield trends were determined for 66 counties in the northern region and for 36 counties in the southern region for the 20-year time period between 1976 and 1995. These 20-year yield trend increases were added to the established (Circular 1156) and model predicted 1970s crop yields to estimate 1990s (1986–1995) corn and soybean yields for the average management level for all 199 Illinois soil types in nine selected counties. The 1990s crop yield estimates for the selected counties were weighted by extent of each soil type in the county and compared against 10-year county averages for the 1990s farmer reported Illinois Agricultural Statistics (IAS) corn and soybean yields. Predicted 1990s county crop yields were statistically similar to 1990s farmer reported (IAS) county crop yields. The proposed approach to updating corn and soybean yields worked well and should be useful in surrounding states or countries.
A new dual to the Gács-Körner common information defined via the Gray-Wyner system

We consider jointly distributed random variables X and Y. After describing the Gacs-Korner common information between the random variables from the viewpoint of the capacity region of the Gray-Wyner system, we propose a new notion of common information between the random variables that is dual to the Gacs-Korner common information from this viewpoint in a well-defined sense. We characterize this quantity explicitly in terms of two auxiliary quantities that are asymmetric in nature, and illustrate the operational significance of these new quantities by characterizing a corner point of the solution to a problem of source coding with side-information in terms of them. We also contrast this new concept of common information for a pair of random variables with the Wyner common information of the random variables, which is also a kind of dual to the Gacs-Korner common information.
Archaea in coastal marine environments.

Abstract Archaea (archaebacteria) are a phenotypically diverse group of microorganisms that share a common evolutionary history. There are four general phenotypic groups of archaea: the methanogens, the extreme halophiles, the sulfate-reducing archaea, and the extreme thermophiles. In the marine environment, archaeal habitats are generally limited to shallow or deep-sea anaerobic sediments (free-living and endosymbiotic methanogens), hot springs or deep-sea hydrothermal vents (methanogens, sulfate reducers, and extreme thermophiles), and highly saline land-locked seas (halophiles). This report provides evidence for the widespread occurrence of unusual archaea in oxygenated coastal surface waters of North America. Quantitative estimates indicated that up to 2% of the total ribosomal RNA extracted from coastal bacterioplankton assemblages was archaeal. Archaeal small-subunit ribosomal RNA-encoding DNAs (rDNAs) were cloned from mixed bacterioplankton populations collected at geographically distant sampling sites. Phylogenetic and nucleotide signature analyses of these cloned rDNAs revealed the presence of two lineages of archaea, each sharing the diagnostic signatures and structural features previously established for the domain Archaea. Both of these lineages were found in bacterioplankton populations collected off the east and west coasts of North America. The abundance and distribution of these archaea in oxic coastal surface waters suggests that these microorganisms represent undescribed physiological types of archaea, which reside and compete with aerobic, mesophilic eubacteria in marine coastal environments.
Design of a fuel cell hybrid tramway

This paper presents the concept of fuel cell hybrid tramway as a viable alternative to catenary-powered tramways. The feasibility of a fuel cell hybrid tramway based on the analysis of the unique characteristics of the drive cycle of a tramway is discussed. The potential advantages and challenges faced are exposed and future research work on the concept is outlined.
High Temperature, High-Pressure Fluid Connections for Power Micro-Systems

High power density micro-systems offer the potential to revolutionize technologies for portable electrical power generation, propulsion and flow control. Devices are being designed and fabricated which include micro-gas turbine engines, micro-rocket engines, micro-motor- compressors, micro-pumps and micro-hydraulic transducers. Common to all of this family of devices is the need to create packages that service the devices, and interface them with the macro-scale environment. Fluid interconnections are a particularly demanding packaging element for this class of devices. In order to achieve high power densities, these devices are required to operate at high pressures and, in some cases, high temperatures. This paper describes the design, analysis, fabrication and testing of high-pressure, high temperature fluid connections for the micro-engine and micro-rocket applications. A glass bonding technology has been developed to allow the creation of multiple fluidic connections consisting of Ni/Fe alloy tubes to silicon devices. Key strategies to achieve high strength connections are: to minimize the mismatch in coefficients of thermal expansion between the components, to eliminate voids from the glass and to promote adequate wetting of the glass to both the tubes and the silicon. Mechanical test results are presented which correlate the strength and statistical reliability of such bonds to the processing conditions, choice of glass and surface preparation prior to bonding. Successful examples of packaged micro-engine and micro-rocket devices are presented.
8 Gbit/s CMOS interface for parallel fibre-optic interconnects

The authors demonstrate an 8 Gbit/s CMOS link interface designed for use with parallel fibre-optic interconnect technology. The link interface is implemented in 0.8 /spl mu/m CMOS and consists of eight data channels and one frame control channel each operating at 1 Gbit/s along with a full-speed 1 GHz clock channel. The chip also provides dual-ported FIFO buffers for interface to a host computer.
Analysis of Contingency Tables Having Ordered Response Categories

Abstract Two methods for analyzing contingency tables with ordered response categories are presented. One method is analogous to using rank tests when there are many ties and the other is based on a Thurstonian scaling model. Both methods use minimum χ2 1 estimates of parameters in linear models and results of either analysis can be presented in the form of analysis of variance. Examples of univariate and bivariate responses are included.
Cellulose crystallinity index: measurement techniques and their impact on interpreting cellulase performance

Although measurements of crystallinity index (CI) have a long history, it has been found that CI varies significantly depending on the choice of measurement method. In this study, four different techniques incorporating X-ray diffraction and solid-state 13C nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) were compared using eight different cellulose preparations. We found that the simplest method, which is also the most widely used, and which involves measurement of just two heights in the X-ray diffractogram, produced significantly higher crystallinity values than did the other methods. Data in the literature for the cellulose preparation used (Avicel PH-101) support this observation. We believe that the alternative X-ray diffraction (XRD) and NMR methods presented here, which consider the contributions from amorphous and crystalline cellulose to the entire XRD and NMR spectra, provide a more accurate measure of the crystallinity of cellulose. Although celluloses having a high amorphous content are usually more easily digested by enzymes, it is unclear, based on studies published in the literature, whether CI actually provides a clear indication of the digestibility of a cellulose sample. Cellulose accessibility should be affected by crystallinity, but is also likely to be affected by several other parameters, such as lignin/hemicellulose contents and distribution, porosity, and particle size. Given the methodological dependency of cellulose CI values and the complex nature of cellulase interactions with amorphous and crystalline celluloses, we caution against trying to correlate relatively small changes in CI with changes in cellulose digestibility. In addition, the prediction of cellulase performance based on low levels of cellulose conversion may not include sufficient digestion of the crystalline component to be meaningful.
The Ligase PIAS1 Restricts Natural Regulatory T Cell Differentiation by Epigenetic Repression

CD4+Foxp3+ regulatory T (Treg) cells are important for maintaining immune tolerance. Understanding the molecular mechanism that regulates Treg differentiation will facilitate the development of effective therapeutic strategies against autoimmune diseases. We report here that the SUMO E3 ligase PIAS1 restricts the differentiation of natural Treg cells by maintaining a repressive chromatin state of the Foxp3 promoter. PIAS1 acts by binding to the Foxp3 promoter to recruit DNA methyltransferases and heterochromatin protein 1 for epigenetic modifications. Pias1 deletion caused promoter demethylation, reduced histone H3 methylation at Lys9, and enhanced promoter accessibility. Consistently, Pias1−/− mice displayed an increased natural Treg cell population and were resistant to the development of experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis. Our studies have identified an epigenetic mechanism that negatively regulates the differentiation of natural Treg cells.
Assistive technology access and service delivery in resource-limited environments: introduction to a special issue of Disability and Rehabilitation: Assistive Technology

This special issue addresses access to and service delivery of assistive technology (AT) in resource-limited environments (RLEs). Access to AT is complicated not simply by limited funds to purchase AT, but by larger ecosystem weaknesses in RLEs related to legislation and policy, supply, distribution, human resources, consumer demand and accessible design. We present eight diverse articles that address various aspects of the AT ecosystem. These articles represent a wide range of AT, many different countries and different research methods. Our goal is to highlight a topic that has received scant research investigation and limited investment in international development efforts, and offer an insight into how different countries and programs are promoting access to AT. We encourage researchers, funders and non-profit organizations to invest additional effort and resources in this area.
Helical Defects in MicroRNA Influence Protein Binding by TAR RNA Binding Protein

Background MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are critical post-transcriptional regulators of gene expression. Their precursors have a globally A-form helical geometry, which prevents most proteins from identifying their nucleotide sequence. This suggests the hypothesis that local structural features (e.g., bulges, internal loops) play a central role in specific double-stranded RNA (dsRNA) selection from cellular RNA pools by dsRNA binding domain (dsRBD) containing proteins. Furthermore, the processing enzymes in the miRNA maturation pathway require tandem-dsRBD cofactor proteins for optimal function, suggesting that dsRBDs play a key role in the molecular mechanism for precise positioning of the RNA within these multi-protein complexes. Here, we focus on the tandem-dsRBDs of TRBP, which have been shown to bind dsRNA tightly.
System reconfiguration on shipboard DC zonal electrical system

In this paper, an automated agent based reconfiguration scheme has been proposed for the DC zonal shipboard electrical system (SES). It is shown that the scheme can reconfigure the system following a disturbance in order to maintain the continuity of supply to loads. The paper identifies the main design issues, which include the number and location of the sectionalizers, primary and secondary DC bus configurations. The paper illustrates that with proper design, the automated reconfiguration can provide the expected performance with regards to continuity and quality of supply to loads.
Microglial p38α MAPK is critical for LPS-induced neuron degeneration, through a mechanism involving TNFα.

Background: The p38a MAPK isoform is a well-established therapeutic target in peripheral inflammatory diseases, but the importance of this kinase in pathological microglial activation and detrimental inflammation in CNS disorders is less well understood. To test the role of the p38a MAPK isoform in microglia-dependent neuron damage, we used primary microglia from wild-type (WT) or p38a MAPK conditional knockout (KO) mice in coculture with WT cortical neurons, and measured neuron damage after LPS insult. Results: We found that neurons in co-culture with p38a-deficient microglia were protected against LPS-induced synaptic loss, neurite degeneration, and neuronal death. The involvement of the proinflammatory cytokine TNFa was demonstrated by the findings that p38a KO microglia produced much less TNFa in response to LPS compared to WT microglia, that adding back TNFa to KO microglia/neuron co-cultures increased the LPS-induced neuron damage, and that neutralization of TNFa in WT microglia/neuron co-cultures prevented the neuron damage. These results using cell-selective, isoform-specific KO mice demonstrate that the p38a MAPK isoform in microglia is a key mediator of LPS-induced neuronal and synaptic dysfunction. The findings also provide evidence that a major mechanism by which LPS activation of microglia p38a MAPK signaling leads to neuron damage is through up-regulation of the proinflammatory cytokine TNFa. Conclusions: The data suggest that selective targeting of p38a MAPK signaling should be explored as a potential therapeutic strategy for CNS disorders where overproduction of proinflammatory cytokines is implicated in disease progression.
Diabetes and the enteric nervous system

Diabetes is associated with several changes in gastrointestinal (GI) motility and associated symptoms such as nausea, bloating, abdominal pain, diarrhoea and constipation. The pathogenesis of altered GI functions in diabetes is multifactorial and the role of the enteric nervous system (ENS) in this respect has gained significant importance. In this review, we summarize the research carried out on diabetes-related changes in the ENS. Changes in the inhibitory and excitatory enteric neurons are described highlighting the role of loss of inhibitory neurons in early diabetic enteric neuropathy. The functional consequences of these neuronal changes result in altered gastric emptying, diarrhoea or constipation. Diabetes can also affect GI motility through changes in intestinal smooth muscle or alterations in extrinsic neuronal control. Hyperglycaemia and oxidative stress play an important role in the pathophysiology of these ENS changes. Antioxidants to prevent or treat diabetic GI motility problems have therapeutic potential. Recent research on the nerve-immune interactions demonstrates inflammation-associated neurodegeneration which can lead to motility related problems in diabetes.
Instability of the Join-the-Shortest-Queue and FCFS Policies in Queueing Systems and Their Stabilization

We demonstrate the instability of the "join-the-shortest-queue" routing policy and the "first-come-first-served" dispatching policy for a multiclass single-station queuing system with multiple nonidentical servers. Although instability is demonstrated in a deterministic setting, we have found strong evidence that it is not limited to this setting. The phenomenon that leads to instability is different from the one reported recently in the literature for nonacyclic systems, namely, servers starvation. The systems considered here are acyclic, and instability is caused by the failure of the policies to assign jobs to servers in an efficient manner. A modification to the investigated policies is proposed to make them stable. The modified policies called guided policies provide an oversight control that ensure efficient utilization of the servers and hence stability.
Using Multiple Processors for Monte Carlo Analysis of System Models

Model-Based Design has become a standard in the automotive industry. In addition to the well-documented advantages that come from modeling control algorithms, [1,2,3,4] modeling plants can lead to more robust designs. Plant modeling enables engineers to test a controller with multiple plant parameters, and to simulate nominal or ideal values. Modeling variable physical parameters provides a better representation of what can be expected in production. Monte Carlo analysis is a standard method of simulating variability that occurs in real physical parameters. Automotive companies use Monte Carlo testing to ensure high quality, robust designs. Due to time and resource constraints, engineers often examine only a limited number of key parameters rather than an entire set. This leaves the design vulnerable to problems caused by missing the full potential impact of parameters that were unvaried during testing. New high-performance computing tools and multiprocessor machines have eliminated the time and resource limitations in many cases by providing the processing power needed to vary large numbers of parameters in complex dynamic models. This paper presents new methods for distributing Monte Carlo analyses of system models across multiple machines. These methods reduce testing time and enable more complete analyses, ensuring better quality when designs go into production.
Relationship between Vegetation Coverage and Abundance, Size, and Diet of Juvenile Largemouth Bass during Winter

Abstract Juvenile largemouth bass Micropterus salmoides were collected by electrofishing during October through March 1992–1994 from coves (≤25 ha) covered with aquatic macrophytes over 1–65% of their area. Mean total length of juvenile largemouth bass was highest in coves with the least vegetated cover, but increase in mean length between October and March was highest in coves having near 20% vegetation coverage. Catch per unit effort decreased between October and March; decreases were least at vegetation coverages near 10–20%, highest at coverages of 5% or less, and intermediate at coverages of 30–65%. By March, these disparate decreases contributed to the formation of a dome-like relationship between vegetation coverage and catch per unit effort. Consumption of fish foods was highest when vegetation coverage was low, but decreased asymptotically as coverage increased; consumption of invertebrate foods increased at low coverage, peaked near 20–30% coverage, and decreased at higher coverage. We suggest t...
Mortality of Workers Employed at Organochlorine Pesticide Manufacturing Plants-An Update

A previous mortality study among four organochlorine pesticide manufacturers was updated through 1987. The organochlorine pesticides included chlordane; heptachlor and endrin; aldrin, dieldrin and endrin; and dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane. The mortality for all causes and all malignant neoplasms at each of the plants was lower than expected. There was a statistically significant increase in liver and biliary tract cancer among workers at plant 3 (5 observed, standardized mortality ratio 393, 95% confidence interval 1.27-9.20). These results are somewhat consistent with experimental animal findings showing benign and malignant tumors of the liver after exposure to aldrin and dieldrin. However, the deaths were due to a mixture of intra- and extra-hepatic tumors, and the dose-response analysis was limited because of the small number of deaths and lack of exposure data. Additional study of this group should include continued follow-up of the total cohort and a case-referent analysis of the deaths from liver and biliary tract cancer.
THE KENNEDY ASSASSINATION: EARLY THOUGHTS AND EMOTIONS

O N FRIDAY, November 22, 1963, the New York Times carried a front-page article with a photograph depicting President Kennedy's arrival to begin a three-day tour of Texas. In the picture he was smiling, vigorous: his wife in the background was also smiling; the description read, "Anxious hands wait to greet President Kennedy.... That same day the mass media in the United States as well as abroad reported unbelievable and shocking news. At 12:30 P.M. Central Standard Time, President John F. Kennedy and Governor John B. Connally, Jr., of Texas were shot. The President was pronounced dead at i:00 P.M. A walk down the street, through the stores, or in classrooms that day revealed a pervasive awareness behind each face one encountered. Every person in every social context had the experience of knowing exactly what was on "that other person's" mind. Whether the other person was friend or stranger, whether his face was tear-stained or full of anger or merely blank, there was no doubt about what the stimulus for this expression or nonexpression was. All people appeared to be approachable; channels of communication between persons were open with regard to both thinking and feeling. People stopped perfect strangers and talked about the latest