cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Reproductive Outcomes following Use of Barbed Suture during Laparoscopic Myomectomy.

Study Objective To review pregnancy outcomes after laparoscopic myomectomy using barbed suture for myometrial closure. Design A retrospective case series and follow up survey. Setting A large academic medical center. Patients or Participants Patients who underwent laparoscopic myomectomy with the use of barbed suture for myometrial closure between 2011- 2016. Interventions Laparoscopic myomectomy and a survey regarding pregnancy outcomes. Measurements and Main Results A total of 316 patients underwent laparoscopic myomectomy between 2011 and 2016. The survey response rate was 163/316 (51.5%). 144/316 agreed to participate, while 19/316 declined. Among the 62 (43%) respondents who attempted pregnancy, 49/62 (79.0%) became pregnant. Comparing the women that became pregnant and those that failed to achieve pregnancy, the pregnant group was on average younger (33.1 years versus 37.6 years, p =0.0028) and had fewer fibroids removed (2.5 versus 3.8, p=0.0396). There were 75 pregnancies amongst the 49 patients who reported pregnancies, with 60 (80%) spontaneous conceptions and 15 (20%) achieved with reproductive assistance. All patients achieving pregnancy got pregnant within 60 months after laparoscopic myomectomy (mean 19.2 months, range 2 to 60 months). There were 47 (63%) live births, 22 (29%) spontaneous abortions, 4 (5%) pregnancy terminations, 2 (3%) ectopic pregnancies and 2 (3%) ongoing pregnancies. Of the 47 live births, 43 were delivered via cesarean section (91.4%). One patient (2.1%) reported fetal growth restriction, and 4 (8.5%) patients experienced preterm labor. No instances of uterine rupture were noted in this cohort. Regarding subsequent pregnancies, 21 women achieved a second pregnancy post-myomectomy, 66% of which resulted in a live birth. Three women had a third post-myomectomy pregnancy with one resulting in live birth; two subjects achieved a fourth post-myomectomy pregnancy with one resulting in live birth. Conclusion According to our findings, pregnancy outcomes after laparoscopic myomectomy with barbed suture are comparable to available literature of pregnancy outcome with traditional smooth suture.
Evaluation of Oxytetracycline Metabolites Cross-Reactivity with Oxytetracycline Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay (ELISA).

Antibiotics have been successfully used for the control of several plant diseases for many years. Recently, streptomycin and oxytetracycline have been approved for the treatment of Huanglongbing (HLB) in Florida. The enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) is the most commonly used assay for the detection of these antibiotics because it is quick, simple, and can be used to analyze many samples at the same time. However, ELISA can react with the metabolites of the parent compound and its structurally related compounds. In this study, we investigated the cross-reactivity of the oxytetracycline ACCEL ELISA kitTM with three of oxytetracycline metabolites (4-epi-oxytetracycline, α-apo-oxytetracycline, and β-apo-oxytetracycline). The α-apo-oxytetracycline and β-apo-oxytetracycline metabolite did not show any cross-reactivity in the linear range (1.5–50 ng mL−1) of the assay. Whereas 4-epi-oxytetracycline showed high cross-reactivity, and its response was similar to oxytetracycline. Our results indicated that the oxytetracycline ELISA kits estimate the level of oxytetracycline as well as its main metabolite, 4-epi-oxytetracycline.
33 – Estrogen Regulation of Neurotransmitter and Growth Factor Signaling in the Brain

Estrogens act in diverse brain regions to regulate reproductive and nonreproductive behaviors and neuronal functions, including mood, cognition, pain, seizures, sensorimotor integration, energy homeostasis, and neural degeneration due to aging, ischemia, and other insults. This chapter reviews evidence that estrogens act at multiple levels in many brain regions to modify synaptic neurotransmission. Identified targets of estrogen action include classical neurotransmitters and diverse peptides that function as neuromodulators. Estrogens act both presynaptically, regulating transmitter availability and/or release, and postsynaptically, governing cellular responses to released transmitter. Hormone-dependent alterations in neural responses to transmitters involve regulation of transmitter receptor expression and the efficacy of transmembrane signal transduction. Estrogens also determine which intracellular signal transduction pathways are activated when neurotransmitters bind their receptors. Emerging evidence suggests that estrogens can activate downstream molecules associated with growth factors and modify the crosstalk between growth factor and neurotransmitter receptor signaling pathways. Therefore, we also summarize findings indicating that physiologically relevant cross talk occurs among estrogen receptor, neurotransmitter receptor, and growth factor receptor signal transduction pathways. The data show that estrogens act throughout the brain to modulate neuronal excitability, synaptic efficacy, and neurogenesis, suggesting that these are fundamental mechanisms of steroid hormone action in the brain.
Partner engagement and patients’ receipt of colorectal cancer surveillance.

e19106Background: Over 50% of survivors of colorectal cancer do not receive guideline-concordant surveillance. In light of growing recognition that members of couples influence each other’s health ...
Profaning the University Apparatus: A Plea for Study Groups

This chapter develops Italian critical theorist Giorgio Agamben’s scattered notes on the university by articulating them with his notion of an institutional apparatus. The author argues that the university is currently an apparatus expressing the extreme tendencies of capitalism through the dominant logic of learning. Yet all is not lost. Within the university there remains a weak power that can suspend learning just enough to return the university to its potentiality. The study group is one such subaltern educational practice. Its redemptive powers come from its unique location (the university’s undercommons), its activity (appropriating the infrastructure of the university), and subjectivity of the studier (caught between being tired and being exhausted). The article closes with a short protocol for how to start up a study group of one’s own.
Exploring Candida auris in its habitat.

Candida auris colonizes human skin and causes life-threatening fungal bloodstream infections. In this issue of Cell Host & Microbe, Huang et al. introduce a murine model of C. auris skin colonization to explore the role of distinct clades, immune signaling pathways, antibiotics, and disinfectants on fungal persistence in or clearance from its habitat.
Utopian/Dystopian Lebanon: constructing place in Jabbūr al-Duwayhī’s Sharīd al-manāzil

Sharīd al-manāzil paints a portrait of Beirut at the outbreak of the Lebanese Civil War. Born Muslim but raised by a Christian couple in the village of Ḥawra, Niẓām al-ʿAlamī embraces his mixed rel...
Status de la mujer y cambio por aculturación

Los autores comienzan con una revision teorica de los estudios sobre la diferenciacion sexual de roles en las sociedades. Analizan el cambio en los roles de los jemininos en las sociedades indigenas en relacion a su nivel de aculturacion y su participacion en el mercado. Con estos antecedentes estudian tres casos de la Amazonia peruana: Candoshi, Cocamilla y Shipibo. Usan estos datos para confirmar la importancia de las hipotesis presentadas anteriormente.
'Jug Jug to Dirty Ears': Maryland v. Craig through a Literary Lens

To facilitate the creation of a text that unifies a judge and her audiences, which are numerous and diverse, this Note creates and defends a literary model of judicial opinion writing. It argues that by attention to and careful use of three rhetorical devices- diction, narrative, and metaphor-a judge will write an opinion that communicates effectively and thereby satisfies her various responsibilities. This Note employs Maryland v. Craig, a 1990 Supreme Court case, to illustrate how the literary model works and why its application is essential. The Craig Court upheld a Maryland statute allowing child abuse victims to testify out of the physical presence of the defendant via one-way closed-circuit television. Justice O'Connor's majority opinion held that this procedure did not violate the defendant's sixth amendment right to be confronted by the witnesses against her, provided the procedure was used only when the judge made certain factual findings. Justice Scalia's vehement dissenting opinion claimed that the procedure failed to adhere to the letter and the spirit of the sixth amendment. For several reasons Craig serves as an apt paradigm for demonstrating the literary model's power. First, Craig provides prototypical examples of effective and ineffectual uses of language. Second, because the Craig case articulates a significant although justifiable limitation on an enumerated constitutional right, it illustrates the gravity of a court's failure to communicate adequately to the audiences who will be affected by its holding. Third, the substance of the case involves particularly emotional issues for which the use of the literary model may be especially appropriate.
Evaluation of a medication optimization intervention and predictors of medication adherence, patient satisfaction and medication adverse events in patients with rheumatoid arthritis.

BACKGROUND Because effective treatment for rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is dependent on medication use, medication optimization is critically important. Medication adherence, patient satisfaction with care and medication adverse events are core concepts of medication optimization that are either a significant problem and/or understudied in patients with RA. OBJECTIVE To (1) evaluate treatment effects from a medication optimization intervention; (2) assess treatment differences and changes over time in medication adherence, patient satisfaction, and medication adverse events; and (3) to determine whether age, gender, provider trust, and disease activity affect these outcomes. METHODS We conducted a prospective, longitudinal intervention study (N = 143 RA patients) using repeated measures models. RESULTS We did not identify significant intervention effects. For both the medication adherence and patient satisfaction models, the significant predictors in the model included age, gender and trust in provider. Older age, female gender (relative to male), and greater trust in the provider were associated with increased medication adherence scores and patient satisfaction. For the adverse events model, the only significant predictor in the model was gender. Compared with males, females were more likely to report experiencing adverse events. Time was significantly associated with decreased experiences of adverse events. CONCLUSION This study has identified important predictors of medication adherence, patient satisfaction and medication adverse events in a sample of patients with RA which can facilitate targeted approaches to improve adherence in those high-risk groups.
Long-term consequences of transradial catheterization on the radial artery.

BACKGROUND The radial artery (RA) is often utilized for diagnostic coronary angiography and percutaneous intervention. Recent high-level evidence supports RA use in preference to the saphenous vein as a conduit for coronary revascularization. AIM To demonstrate gross and histologic changes of the RA following transradial (TR) access. METHODS We present two patients who had open RA harvest for coronary bypass surgery after TR catheterization. RESULTS Examination 8 years after TR catheterization demonstrated thickened intima and dissection, and examination 12 years following TR catheterization with percutaneous coronary intervention demonstrated chronic dissection with thickened intima and near occlusion of the lumen. CONCLUSION TR access via the RA, even after several years, is associated with significant injury, making it unusable as a conduit for surgical coronary revascularization. A RA that has been utilized for catheterization should not be considered for coronary revascularization.
Pultrusion Process Modeling

A basic one-dimensional heat transfer model of the pultrusion process for thermosetting resin composites was formulated. The model, employing a Galerkin finite-element approach, is the basic development. It can be expanded to a general characterization of the process and extended to characterize the pultrusion process for thermoplastic resin composites. The application of the basic model is demonstrated.
Interaction of somatosensory evoked potentials within the same nerve and between the two different nerves: including high-frequency oscillation (HFO).

Publisher Summary Studying refractory periods, occlusion, and inhibition using somatosensory-evoked potentials (SEPs) could explore the complex mechanisms of these synaptic connections. This chapter presents a series of SEP experiments started from the anecdotal observation that the amplitude of common peroneal nerve (CPN)-SEP was smaller than that of the posterior tibial nerve (PTN)-SEP or sural (SN)-SEP. This was contrary to the “intuitive” expectation that CPN-SEP with stimulation at the knee would produce larger amplitude response than PTN stimulation at the ankle, because CPN stimulation at the popliteal fossa activates larger fibers receiving greater peripheral receptors than the PTN stimulation at the ankle. The chapter examines the interactions of mixed nerve (PTN) and sensory nerve (SN), and also sensory (SN) and sensory (saphenous) nerves.
Augmented reality interfaces for procedural tasks

Procedural tasks involve people performing established sequences of activities while interacting with objects in the physical environment to accomplish particular goals. These tasks span almost all aspects of human life and vary greatly in their complexity. For some simple tasks, little cognitive assistance is required beyond an initial learning session in which a person follows one-time compact directions, or even intuition, to master a sequence of activities. In the case of complex tasks, procedural assistance may be continually required, even for the most experienced users. Approaches for rendering this assistance employ a wide range of written, audible, and computer-based technologies. This dissertation explores an approach in which procedural task assistance is rendered using augmented reality. Augmented reality integrates virtual content with a user’s natural view of the environment, combining real and virtual objects interactively, and aligning them with each other. Our thesis is that an augmented reality interface can allow individuals to perform procedural tasks more quickly while exerting less effort and making fewer errors than other forms of assistance. This thesis is supported by several significant contributions yielded during the exploration of the following research themes: What aspects of AR are applicable and beneficial to the procedural task problem? In answering this question, we developed two prototype AR interfaces that improve procedural task accomplishment. The first prototype was designed to assist mechanics carrying out maintenance procedures under field conditions. An evaluation involving professional mechanics showed our prototype reduced the time required to locate procedural tasks and resulted in fewer head movements while transitioning between tasks. Following up on this work, we constructed another prototype that focuses on providing assistance in the underexplored psychomotor phases of procedural tasks. This prototype presents dynamic and prescriptive forms of instruction and was evaluated using a demanding and realistic alignment task. This evaluation revealed that the AR prototype allowed participants to complete the alignment more quickly and accurately than when using an enhanced version of currently employed documentation systems. How does the user interact with an AR application assisting with procedural tasks? The application of AR to the procedural task problem poses unique user interaction challenges. To meet these challenges, we present and evaluate a novel class of user interfaces that leverage naturally occurring and otherwise unused affordances in the native environment to provide a tangible user interface for augmented reality applications. This class of techniques, which we call Opportunistic Controls, combines hand gestures, overlaid virtual widgets, and passive haptics to form an interface that was proven effective and intuitive during quantitative evaluation. Our evaluation of these techniques includes a qualitative exploration of various preferences and heuristics for Opportunistic Control-based designs.
EFFECT OF SYNGAS COMPOSITION AND CO2-DILUTED OXYGEN ON PERFORMANCE OF A PREMIXED SWIRL-STABILIZED COMBUSTOR

Future energy systems based on solid fuel gasification for co-production of power and fuels may require gas turbine operation on unusual gas fuel mixtures. In addition, global climate change concerns may dictate the production of a CO2 product stream for end-use or sequestration, with potential impacts on the oxidizer used in the gas turbine. In this study the operation at atmospheric pressure of a small, optically accessible swirl-stabilized premixed combustor is investigated when burning fuels ranging from pure methane to shifted or filtered syngas mixtures. Both air and CO2 -diluted oxygen are used as oxidizers. CO and NOx emissions for these flames have been determined over the full operation range from lean blowout to slightly rich conditions. In practice, CO2 -diluted oxygen systems will likely be operated close to stoichiometric conditions to minimize oxygen consumption. The presence of hydrogen in the syngas fuel mixtures results in compact, high temperature flames, resulting in increased flame stability and higher NOx emissions. The lean blowout limit decreases with increasing H2 content in the syngas. Similarly, CO emissions for lean stoichiometries decrease with increasing H2 content. CO emissions near the stoichiometric combustion point do not become significant until φ > 0.95, at which point CO emissions rise more rapidly for combustion in O2 -CO2 mixtures than for combustion in air.Copyright © 2007 by ASME
On the Scalability of an Automatically Parallelized Irregular Application

Irregular applications, i.e. , programs that manipulate pointer-based data structures such as graphs and trees, constitute a challenging target for parallelization because the amount of parallelism is input dependent and changes dynamically. Traditional dependence analysis techniques are too conservative to expose this parallelism. Even manual parallelization is difficult, time consuming, and error prone. The Galois system parallelizes such applications using an optimistic approach that exploits higher-level semantics of abstract data types. In this paper, we study the performance and scalability of a Galoised, that is, automatically parallelized, version of Delaunay mesh refinement (DR) on a shared-memory system with 128 CPUs. DR is an important irregular application that is used, e.g. , in graphics and finite-element codes. The parallelized program scales to 64 threads, where it reaches a speedup of 25.8. For large numbers of threads, the performance is hampered by the load imbalance and the nonuniform memory latency, both of which grow as the number of threads increases. While these two issues will have to be addressed in future work, we believe our results already show the Galois approach to be very promising.
Optimization of chest wall hyperthermia treatment using a virtual human chest model

This work explores different coupling configurations (direct contact, air and water coupling) between a single 915 MHz waveguide applicator and human tissue in the setting of chest wall recurrence (CWR) of breast cancer. The objective is to treat chest wall tumours with microwave hyperthermia, while avoiding hot spots in critical areas such as scars and ribs. The best coupling configuration was a customized 24U29 cm water bolus developed by our team. It helps the applicator deliver an effective field size of 268 cm2 at 1 cm depth and a penetration depth of 2–3 cm. Water bolus thickness can be adjusted during treatment (0.5–4 cm) to shift hot spot locations and thus homogenize thermal dose delivered over a 60 min hyperthermia treatment. The virtual human chest model is easily customized so it can be used as a tool for treatment planning and quality assurance testing of microwave applicator configurations.
MORPHOLOGY, MODES OF BEHAVIOR, AND MEASURES OF MARKET POWER: A Framework for Evaluating the Impact of Industrialization of Southern Agriculture on Markets and Market Structure

In spite of the volume of literature produced over the years reflecting concern over the present state of the arts, the situation is likely to continue. However, there are several new ideas that offer some promise for improving our understanding and ability to project new relationships in the agribusiness sector of the Southern region. Although the title of this article implies a one-way set of forces working from agricultural industrialization to market structure, some of our colleagues regard this relationship as a two way process with forces at work in each sector having strong impacts on the other. It is these interdependencies that make the task of model building so difficult and empirical analysis so complex.
Food transfers among Hiwi foragers of Venezuela : Tests of reciprocity

Although food sharing has been observed in many traditional societies, we still do not have a deep understanding of how various ecological conditions produce variation in who gives and who receives specific resources. To understand better the behavioral ecology of food sharing, we present data collected with the Hiwi of Venezuela and focus on two questions: (a) How do characteristics of food resources and acquirers determine how much is transfered to others? (b) How do characteristics of nuclear families A and B influence how much is transferred between A and B? We use path modeling in an attempt to tease apart the relative contribution of biological kinship, geographical proximity between households, family size, and quantities family B gave to family A on the expected quantities that family A gives to family B. Reciprocal altruism is shown to be an important link in the chain of factors, but not in the tit-for-tat form common in theoretical treatments of reciprocity.
Bond Thickness Effect in Adhesive Joints and Its Significance for Mode I Interlaminar Fracture of Composites

The effect of constraining the crack-tip damage zone on the Mode I fracture of a toughened epoxy resin (BP-907) was studied systematically using the double-cantilever-beam (DCB) adhesive joint specimen and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). While a broad bond thickness range was employed (5 33 μm the fracture energy exhibited dramatic variations with t that were shown to follow from the variations in size of a certain dimple-like morphological feature. In constrast, the arrest energy was fixed, in consistency with the unchanging morphology. The fracture behavior for t < 33 μm was equally interesting, now though because Gic was fixed while G 1 C a varied with t. These changes in failure conditions were accompanied by morphological changes; as t decreased from 33 μm, the failure locus shifted from the bond center to the metal/matrix interface, and the failure itself occurred by shear yielding. Similarities were found in the failure conditions of butt joint and DCB adhesive specimens, on the one hand, and in that of the latter and composite interlaminar fracture, on the other hand, which suggest an interrelationship among these three failure phenomena.
Partial matching of two dimensional shapes using random coding

Three algorithms for coding the boundary of two-dimensional shapes are described. In each algorithm, each boundary point is coded with respect to another point picked at random from the boundary. Using this method, an effective and efficient correlation technique to match two-dimensional shapes is developed. This technique can be used to match shapes of arbitrary scale and orientation. The given shape can have a closed or open boundary or even have a portion obstructed from the view. Matching can be performed with varying degrees of detail, giving the technique an added robustness, against geometrical distortions. It can also discriminate between different shapes. On an IBM 3033 computer it typically takes 10 CPU-seconds to generate one correlation curve between two shapes, each with a 500-point boundary curve. >
A temperature dependent kinetic study of the reaction of the hydroxyl radical with CH3Br

Rate constants have been measured for the gas phase reaction of the hydroxyl radical (OH) with CH3Br over the temperature range 250 to 400 K. The Arrhenius expression k = (5.79 x 10 exp -12) exp(-1560/T) cu cm/molecule per sec was derived from the kinetic data. From the rate constant at 277 K, the tropospheric lifetime of CH3Br with respect to reaction with OH is estimated to be 2.2 years and the overall atmospheric lifetime to be 2.1 years.
To eat or not to eat: The effect of AICAR on food intake regulation in yellow-bellied marmots (Marmota flaviventris)

Mammals that hibernate (hibernators) exhibit a circannual rhythm of food intake and body mass. In the laboratory during the winter hibernation period, many hibernators enter a series of multi-day torpor bouts, dropping their body temperature to near ambient, and cease to feed even if food is present in their cage. The mechanism(s) that regulates food intake in hibernators is unclear. Recently, AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) has been shown to play a key role in the central regulation of food intake in mammals. We hypothesized that infusing an AMPK activator, 5-aminoimidazole-4-carboxamide 1 B-D-ribofuranoside (AICAR), intracerebroventricularly (ICV) into the third ventricle of the hypothalamus would stimulate yellow-bellied marmots (Marmota flaviventris) to feed during their hibernation season. Infusion of AICAR ICV into marmots at an ambient temperature of 22 degrees C caused a significant (P<0.05) increase in food intake. In addition, animals stimulated to feed did not enter torpor during the infusion period. Marmots ICV infused with saline did not increase food intake and these animals continued to undergo torpor at an ambient temperature of 22 degrees C. Our results suggest that AICAR stimulated the food intake pathway, presumably by activating AMPK. These results support the hypothesis that AMPK may be involved in regulating food intake in hibernators and that there may be common neural pathways involved in regulating feeding and eliciting torpor.
Clinical uses of intravenous anesthetic and analgesic infusions.

Renewed interest in i.v. anesthetic techniques has resulted from the availability of more rapid and shorter-acting i.v. drugs. With recent advances in the area of infusion pump technology, it has become easier to administer i.v. anesthetics and analgesics by continuous infusion techniques. The newer sedative-hypnotic (midazolam, propofol) and analgesic (sufentanil, alfentanil) drugs are better suited pharmacologically to continuous administration techniques than the traditional i.v. agents because they can be more accurately titrated to meet the unique and changing anesthetic needs of the individual patient. With the newer sedative and analgesic drugs, it is now possible to administer i.v. anesthetics in a titrated manner analogous to that which is possible when volatile anesthetics are used. In this way, the drug infusion rate is varied depending on the patient's responses to noxious surgical stimuli. In titrating i.v. drug infusions, consideration must also be given to the age of the patient, pre-existing disease states, potential drug interactions, and proximity to the end of the operative procedure. The availability of rapid and short-acting i.v. drugs like alfentanil and propofol, as well as intermediate-acting muscle relaxants makes it possible to employ total intravenous anesthetic techniques during general surgery. Many non-sedative and non-analgesic i.v. drugs are being investigated in anesthesia for use by continuous infusion techniques, e.g., muscle relaxant, and local anesthetics. Several recent studies have demonstrated the efficacy of continuous infusions of local anesthetics for obstetrical analgesia. The use of continuous local anesthetic infusions makes it possible to achieve improved analgesia (i.e., a more constant degree of analgesia) with lower doses. Improved delivery systems for administering i.v. drugs will make it easier to use continuous infusion techniques in the future. With continued progress in the development of infusion devices and i.v. drugs designed for continuous administration, the use of intravenous anesthetic techniques will become more widespread. In the near future, infusion pumps will likely become standard equipment on all anesthesia machines and anesthesiologists should find these techniques easier to use in their clinical practices.
Global thermospheric studies of neutral dynamics using incoherent-scatter radars

Abstract Among the parameters we can deduce from incoherent-scatter radar measurements in the thermosphere is the meridional wind - the horizontal neutral wind in the magnetic north-south direction. Since this was first realized in 1967, radar observations have contributed greatly to the study of thermospheric dynamics. At mid and low latitudes, they have shown the important impact that tides propagating upward, from the lower atmosphere, have on the dynamics at F-region altitudes. At high latitudes, radar measurements have demonstrated what effects momentum and energy transfer from the magnetosphere have on the dynamics at F-region altitudes; including local ion drag, equatorward surge near midnight, IMF B y , local Joule heating, high-latitude heating, and midnight abatement and reversal. More generally the radar data have been used to confirm basic ideas about the global meridional circulation. Initially this was done with individual radars; now coordinated observations by a network of radars take data for periods of from one to five days. These global observations provide measurements of the full diurnal pattern at multiple locations as a function of season, magnetic activity, solar cycle, and of many other geophysical parameters. These multiday campaigns have contributed significantly to major ongoing programs such as CEDAR and WITS, and are planned to support future ones, such as STEP. The breadth of these programs is especially significant today. We are entering a new era when radar observations, combined with those from other instruments, can be used in conjunction with major theoretical models to test our quantitative understanding of the myriad physical processes and interactions that give rise to the winds and other geophysical parameters in the upper atmosphere.
Bayesian non-parametric estimation for age-dependent branching processes

Abstract The purpose of this paper is to obtain Bayes estimators for both the offspring and life-length distribution in the context of a Bellman-Harris age-dependent branching process. We take a non-parametric approach by letting the prior random distributions, for the offspring and life-length distributions, be independent Dirichlet processes. Our primary results concern the derivation of Bayes estimators, under weighted squared error loss for each distribution. We also indicate some of their asymptotic properties and briefly discuss the modifications that become necessary when the initial information is such that the prior random distribution cannot be taken to be independent.
The joint effects of efficacy and compliance: A study of household water treatment effectiveness against childhood diarrhea

The effectiveness of household water treatment (HWT) at reducing diarrheal disease is related to the efficacy of the HWT method at removing pathogens, how people comply with HWT, and the relative contributions of other pathogen exposure routes. We define compliance with HWT as the proportion of drinking water treated by a community. Although many HWT methods are efficacious at removing or inactivating pathogens, their effectiveness within actual communities is decreased by imperfect compliance. However, the quantitative relationship between compliance and effectiveness is poorly understood. To assess the effectiveness of HWT on childhood diarrhea incidence via drinking water for three pathogen types (bacterial, viral, and protozoan), we developed a quantitative microbial risk assessment (QMRA) model. We examined the relationship between log10 removal values (LRVs) and compliance with HWT for scenarios varying by: baseline incidence of diarrhea; etiologic fraction of diarrhea by pathogen type; pattern of compliance within a community; and size of contamination spikes in source water. Benefits from increasing LRVs strongly depend on compliance. For perfect compliance, diarrheal incidence decreases as LRVs increase. However, if compliance is incomplete, there are diminishing returns from increasing LRVs in most of the scenarios we considered. Higher LRVs are more beneficial if: contamination spikes are large; contamination levels are generally high; or some people comply perfectly. The effectiveness of HWT interventions at the community level may be limited by imperfect compliance, such that the benefits of high LRVs are not realized. Compliance with HWT should be carefully measured during HWT field studies and HWT dissemination programs. Studies of pathogen concentrations in a variety of developing-country source waters are also needed. Guidelines are needed for measuring and promoting compliance with HWT.
Three challenges for public finance

There is one common thread that runs through all three of these challenges. It is a plea to look beyond the standard model of taxation in which it is assumed that the taxed goods directly enter into individuals' utility functions or firms' production functions. At a very basic level this assumption is incorrect because what is taxed is what the taxpayer reports or the tax agency observes, not what the taxpayer consumes or the firm uses and produces. Thus we must analyze tax systems in which the compliance and enforcement elements are explicit.
Nitrile Hydratase from Rhodococcus rhodochrous J1 Contains a Non-Corrin Cobalt Ion with Two Sulfur Ligands

We present spectroscopic data that show that a nitrile hydratase from Rhodococcus rhodochrous J1 is the first reported example of a native protein that contains a non-corrin Co{sup 3+} ion with a mixed S and N(O) ligand field. The similarities of the pre-edge and EXAFS spectra suggest that the ligand environments of the metal ions in the cobalt- and the iron-containing nitrile hydratases are very similar. Low-spin six-coordinate CO{sup 3+} complexes show S {yields} Co{sup 3+} charge transfer transitions at approximately 280 nm. Although featureless in the visible region, the absorption spectrum of nitrile hydratase from R. rhodochrous J1 (data not shown) has a significant shoulder above 300 nm that we suggest may have S {yields} Co ligand-to-metal charge transfer character. The absence of coenzyme B{sub 12} in the enzyme is shown by the lack of corrin absorbance in the visible spectrum and by the strong similarity in metal sites in the iron- and cobalt-containing nitrile hydratases revealed by EXAFS. Although there are several naturally occurring non-corrin Co{sup 2+} enzymes, the nitrile hydratase from R. rhodochrous J1 is the first example, to our knowledge, of a native non-corrin Co{sup 3+} enzyme as well as of biological Co-S coordination. 28 refs.,more » 3 figs.« less
Role of Sarcolemmal Membrane Sodium‐Calcium Exchange inVascular Smooth Muscle Tensiona

A body of information obtained by experiments with intact tissues, isolated cells, and sarcolemmal vesicles indicates, beyond a reasonable doubt, that a specific Na(+)-Ca2+ exchange system exists in vascular smooth muscle. However, its role in the regulation of cytosolic free-Ca2+ concentration and cell tension under physiological conditions remains unclear. Under pharmacological conditions in which the Na(+)-K+ pump is inhibited either by digitalis glycosides or K(+)-free medium, Na(+)-Ca2+ exchange may be modulated by increases in cytosolic free Na+ to increase the cytosolic free-Ca2+ concentration and cell tension. Under pathological conditions in which the cytosolic Na+ concentration is increased as a result of inhibition of the Na(+)-K+ pump by endogenous ouabain or a digitalis-like factor, or activation of the Na(+)-H+ exchange or passive permeability of Na+, the Na(+)-Ca2+ exchange activity of vascular smooth muscle and the nerve terminal may play an important role in the development and/or maintenance of hypertension. These and other premises remain to be confirmed or discounted.
Part II. Ionization energies, hardness, softness, and absolute electronegativity of heteronuclear and homonuclear diatomic molecules by the CBS-QB3 and G3B3 methods

Previously we have shown that the CBS-QB3 and G3B3 methods have been excellent in the calculation of the electron affinity of small diatomic molecules [J. Mol. Struct. (THEOCHEM) 574 (2001) 141]. In this work, we examine the ionization energies, and use the reported values of the electron affinity to compare the CBS-QB3 and G3B3 values of the hardness, softness and absolute electronegativity. Excellent experimental agreement is obtained for most of our calculated values.
Design and production of color calibration targets for digital input devices

This paper presents the design and production of calibration targets for digital input color devices. By experimentally determined gamut of surface color, this study redesigns the aim values based on ISO/FDIS 12641 and to meet process specifications of Noritsu QSS23-HRCRT photographic printer with silver halide photography. The calibration target includes four components: a set of 144 color patches (3 levels in lightness and 4 levels in chroma at 12 different hue angles) within printing gamut, a neutral scale containing 22 steps based on visual perception, a set of C- M-Y-K-R-G-B dye scales showing characteristics of photographic materials, and a series of facial colors ranked by red. This research will describe the meaning of each element, the use of colorimetric mapping to CIELCH for each element, the conversion of these patch into a RGB-mode electronic image file, and how to control the processing of color photographic materials. And we proposed an approach of dynamic subgroup linear interpolation to achieve high process quality of manufacturing calibration targets and cost-down. Finally, statistic results revealed that 99% of the patches are within 10 delta Eab of the aim values specified in this study from long-term test and 99% of the patches in the manufacturing batch are within 5 delta Eab of the mean values from short-term test.
The base of the intersection of two free submonoids

Abstract Given two free submonoids of a free monoid, one wishes to find a specification for the base of the intersection. An algorithm to construct a graph-theoretic specification of the base is presented. From this specification it can easily be determined whether the base is finite. In addition, a a polynomial-time algorithm to determine if a regular set is a circular code is presented.
INTERACTION OF VOLATILITY AND AUTOCORRELATION IN FOREIGN STOCK RETURNS

In this paper we model six major foreign stock index returns as conditionally heteroscedastic processes with time dependent autocorrelation. The findings point to a significant inverse relationship between volatility and autocorrelation. This is in agreement with previous findings for the US stock market, suggesting that stock return dynamics are similar across markets.
Hepatitis B virus infection and liver transplantation

The histologic findings in the original liver obtained from 9 liver allograft patients with active B virus hepatitis were compared with 28 post-transplant pathology specimens. All specimens were studied with the use of light and immunohistochemical microscopy in conjunction with pertinent clinical data. Eight of the 9 patients had chronic active hepatitis B (HB) with cirrhosis, prior to transplant, one of which had coexistent hepatocellular carcinoma. The ninth patient had fulminant hepatic necrosis secondary to acute HB prior to transplantation. In all of the patients with chronic HB prior to transplantation who survived more than 2 months after transplantation, recurrent infection of the graft developed despite perioperative HB immunoglobulin therapy. The patient with acute fulminant hepatitis B pretransplant has done well postoperatively and has evidence of HB virus immunity (positive anti-HBs) 15 months after transplantation. Examination of tissue specimens obtained during episodes of allograft dysfunction in these 9 patients indicates that pathologic alterations of active HB infection of the allograft are associated with a preferential lobular insult, whereas those occurring in rejection preferentially involve portal tract structures. Serologic data combined with biopsy histopathologic data are essential in distinguishing between the two quite different events.
Fungus aerosols arising from cold-mist vaporizers

Abstract Flares of asthma were noted by two subjects during the operation of cold-mist vaporizers which, when studied, were found to release yeast-contaminated aerosols. Of 22 additional frequently used devices, 15 were found to raise appreciably indoor fungus levels during the operation; concentrations exceeding 5,000 viable isolates per square meter were not unusual during mist generation. Both filamentous fungi and unicellular forms were found to colonize cold-mist vaporizers and to be released with different temporal patterns that may reflect substrate specificity within these devices. Scrupulous and regular cleansing of accessible inner surfaces was found to markedly decrease but not eliminate mycotic contamination of the aerosols. Decisions to use these devices require an awareness of the potential exposure hazards involved and of the need for more than a casual approach to sanitary maintenance.
Longitudinal Changes in Myocardial Basic Fibroblast Growth Factor (FGF-2) Activity Following Coronary Artery Ligation in the Dog

Abstract Although fibroblast growth factor has been identified in normal and ischemic myocardium, temporal changes in mitogenic activity due to fibroblast growth factors in ischemic tissue have not been well established, nor has correlation been made with the known early increases in coronary collateral flow. This study sought to measure fibroblast growth factor activity in myocardium after coronary ligation. Accordingly the left anterior descending coronary artery of dogs was ligated and coronary collateral flow measured with radioactive microspheres. The heart was arrested after 2 h (four dogs), 1 weeks (four dogs), or 2 weeks (three dogs), or 8 weeks (four dogs). Just before arrest collateral flow was again measured with radioactive microspheres, and the perfusion territory of the ligated vessel was demarcated with an intracoronary of Evans blue. The stained ischemic region was separated into central and peripheral portions. A transmural sample was removed from each portion for quantitation of tissue radioactivity and the rest was used for isolation of fibroblast growth factor and the measurement of mitogenic activity with vascular endothelial cells. To determine which fibroblast growth factor (FGF-1 or FGF-2) was being produced by the myocardium, aliquots of the isolated protein were first treated with specific antibodies to FGF-1 or FGF-2 before being assayed for mitogenicity. Coronary collateral flow did not change between 5 min and 2 h following coronary ligation, but was significantly increased at later time points. The ischemic/normal myocardial basic fibroblast growth factor mitogenic activity ratio in the peripheral ischemic tissue was increased after 2 h of ischemia (1.41 ± 0.34), but the increase was not significant. Increases at 1 and 2 weeks (1.75 ± 0.25 and 2.55 ± 0.49, respectively) were significant. By 8 weeks the mitogenic activity levels in the ischemic tissue had returned to normal (ratio 0.71 ± 0.12). Mitogenic activity was totally abolished in those samples exposed to anti-FGF-2 before being applied to the vascular endothelial cells, but was unaffected by exposure to anti-FGF-1. Therefore, basic fibroblast growth factor (FGF-2) activity increases in ischemic myocardium in the initial weeks after coronary occlusion but returns to normal by eight weeks. This increase parallels the dramatic early increase in coronary collateral development and flow. Hence FGF-2 is one of the active angiogenic factors produced by ischemic myocardium. These observations support, but do not prove, a relationship between coronary collateral development and changes in basic fibroblast growth factor mitogenic activity.
Programmed Cell Death in Cortical Chick Embryo Astrocytes Is Associated with Activation of Protein Kinase PK60 and Ceramide Formation

Embryonic astrocytes respond readily to serine/threonine kinase regulation in terms of cytoskeleton assembly, mitotic activity, and cell fate. We now present evidence that these responses include apoptosis. Staurosporine induced apoptosis in astrocyte cultures derived from chick embryo cerebral hemispheres, as assayed both by immunocytochemical detection of new 3-hydroxy DNA ends and production of 200-bp DNA fragment laddering. Staurosporine treatment also resulted in the prolonged (>24 h) activation of a 60-kDa serine/threonine protein kinase (PK60), increased ceramide formation (fourfold after 24 h), increased glutamine synthetase activity, and significant apoptosis (40%) after 24 h. PK60 was shown to be cytoskeleton associated and its activity, as measured by phosphorylation of myelin basic protein, was rapid, increased for up to 3 h, and was stable for at least 24 h. Other protein kinase C inhibitors, H8, sphingosine, calphostin C, or the protein kinase A inhibitor KT5720 did not induce either PK60 activation or apoptosis. The dose-dependent increase in [3H]palmitate labeling of ceramide and a specific decrease in labeling of its precursor sphingomyelin were not blocked by the biosynthetic inhibitor fumonisin beta1 but were increased (in a dose-dependent manner) by the coaddition of the ceramidase inhibitor oleoylethanolamine. Exogenous addition of C2-ceramide induced apoptosis but did not activate PK60. These results suggest that apoptosis in embryonic astrocytes involves pathways similar to those described in other cell types and that the activation of PK60 and formation of ceramide are early events in the pathway.
The need to know and the fear of knowing.

(1963). The Need to know and the Fear of Knowing. The Journal of General Psychology: Vol. 68, No. 1, pp. 111-125.
Industrial emissions of carbon dioxide in the United States: a projection

Carbon dioxide builds up in the eartht's atmosphere principally from increased use of fossil fuels. Estimates of the escalating uses of fossil fuels in the United States, especially for the generation of electric power and in the internal combustion engine, show that by the year 2000 emissions will have increased approximately eighteenfold from 1890. In the period 1965 to 1985 an emission-rate increase of around 4.0 percent per year compounded is expected. The expected intrusion and expansion of nuclear power will tend to lower the rates of increase of emission after 1985. Increases in emission rates in the rest of the world will probably equal or exceed the values projected for the United States.
Radical cleavage of cyclobutanes: alternative routes to (±)-silphinene

Abstract A tributyltin hydride reduction and an atom transfer fragmentation of a iodomethyl cyclobutane have been used to complete two modified syntheses of silphinene with complete regioselectivity in the introduction of the silphinene double bond.