cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
MBE growth of multiple quantum wells with room-temperature exciton peaks at 1.3 μm

Abstract GaAlInAs AlInAs multiple quantum wells have been grown lattice matched on InP substrates by taking into account the time dependence of the fluxes as the shutters open and close. RHEED oscillations are observed and used to calibrate layer thicknesses and growth quality. The half width of the lowest exciton peak is 12 meV.
The emergence of the Internet: collective invention and wild ducks

How and why did the Internet accumulate so many valuable improvements during the era of US-government sponsorship? The essay interprets the creation of the Internet through the lens of collective invention, focusing attention on the institutional factors that shaped the aspirations of participants and that constrained the realization of those aspirations. The analysis provides insight about why the technology developed beyond its prototype status, and extended the Internet to new users or uses, especially nontechnical users. The essay features the development of email as an illustration. Copyright 2010 The Author 2010. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Associazione ICC. All rights reserved., Oxford University Press.
A knowledge-based move set for protein folding.

The free energy landscape of protein folding is rugged, occasionally characterized by compact, intermediate states of low free energy. In computational folding, this landscape leads to trapped, compact states with incorrect secondary structure. We devised a residue-specific, protein backbone move set for efficient sampling of protein-like conformations in computational folding simulations. The move set is based on the selection of a small set of backbone dihedral angles, derived from clustering dihedral angles sampled from experimental structures. We show in both simulated annealing and replica exchange Monte Carlo (REMC) simulations that the knowledge-based move set, when compared with a conventional move set, shows statistically significant improved ability at overcoming kinetic barriers, reaching deeper energy minima, and achieving correspondingly lower RMSDs to native structures. The new move set is also more efficient, being able to reach low energy states considerably faster. Use of this move set in determining the energy minimum state and for calculating thermodynamic quantities is discussed. Proteins 2007. © 2006 Wiley-Liss, Inc.
How are tris(triazolyl)borate ligands electronically different from tris(pyrazolyl)borate ligands? A study of (TtztBu,Me)CuCO [TtztBu,Me = tris(3-t-butyl-5-methyl-1,2,4-triazolyl)borate]

(TtztBu,Me)CuCO [TtztBu,Me = tris(3-t-butyl-5-methyl-1,2,4-triazolyl)borate] was prepared and fully characterized to test whether the TtztBu,Me ligand, which is sterically similar to TptBu,Me is electronically different; TtztBu,Me is a weaker electron donor and (TtztBu,Me)CuCO is water stable and has a propensity to form hydrogen bonds.
Advances in two-phase flow modeling for LMFBR applications

Abstract This paper summarizes the development of numerical models for analysis of sodium boiling phenomena in LMFBR which has been carried out at M.I.T. over the last five years. With regard to the degree of spatial averaging, our models use the porous body approach, in two and three-dimensional configurations. One important advantage of this model is the ability to accommodate homogenization of arbitrary-sized regions of interest. From a numerical point of view our basic approach is a semi-implicit method in which pressure pulse propagation and local effects characterized by short time constraints are treated implicitly, while convective transport and diffusion heat transfer phenomena, associated with longer time constants, are handled explicitly. This method remains tractable and efficient in multi-dimensional applications. Both a six-equation (“two-fluid”) model and a four-equation (“mixture”) model have been pursued. A considerable effort has been devoted to the development of constitutive relations. Our current package provides an adequate simulation capability for a wide range of applications. This paper will present the general physical formulation of the codes, the constitutive relations, the general numerical approach, applications, and finally some concluding remarks based on our experience with these codes.
Mechanical Behavior of a Cryomilled Near-Nanostructured Al-Mg-Sc Alloy

In the present study, the mechanical behavior of a cryomilled Al-7.5 pct Mg-0.3 pct Sc alloy was investigated at temperatures in the range of 298 to 648 K. The grain size of the as-extruded alloy was determined to be approximately 200 nm by transmission electron microscope (TEM) and X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis. The data indicate that as a result of cryomilling, a supersaturated solid solution with high thermal stability was formed in the Al-Mg-Sc alloy. The high strength at room temperature was primarily attributed to three types of strengthening: grain size effect, solid solution hardening, and Orowan strengthening. The elevated temperature mechanical behavior of the Al-Mg-Sc alloy exhibits the following: (a) a strain-rate sensitivity, m, of less than 0.2; and (b) an activation energy, Q, that increases from 139 to 193 kJ/mol with increasing applied stress. An analysis of the experimental data at elevated temperatures shows that despite the fine-grained structure of the alloy, the deformation characteristics are not consistent with those arising from a superplastic deformation process that incorporates a threshold stress. On the other hand, the analysis suggests that the deformation characteristics agree with those associated with the transition in the creep behavior of Al-based solid solution alloys from that for the intermediate-stress region, where m=0.33 and Q=Q D (Q D is the activation energy for self-diffusion in Al), to that of the high-stress region, where m Q D .
Mutual empowerment of state and peasantry: Grassroots democracy in rural China

Abstract This paper aims to explore alternative pathways to democracy by studying the origins, processes, and impacts of a recent political development in China: within the framework of an authoritarian state, the gradual emergence of some genuine grassroots self-government, especially in rural areas. The major argument is that the practice of self-government in rural China was promoted by the state to regain the legitimacy and governability it had lost during the economic reforms. It is a critical process in which the state and the peasantry are mutually empowering each other by linking peasant demands to state power through the mechanism of grassroots elections and self-governing villager committees. The Chinese case shows that the empowerment of new social forces does not necessarily weaken the capacity of the state to govern society and therefore, in the long run, a peaceful and orderly democratic transition might be possible.
Low power TDMA in large wireless sensor networks

In this paper we present a novel TDMA scheme for a large population of sensors interconnected by a wireless multihop network. Applications of this wireless sensor network include battlefield surveillance, space exploration and condition based monitoring. Key characteristics of this system are the large number of sensor nodes and the need to rely on battery operation for a long period of time. Since communication is a major consumer of energy, low power communication protocols play a critical role in wireless sensor networks and have significant impact on the overall energy dissipation of these networked systems. This paper focuses on an energy efficient TDMA protocol, power aware clustered TDMA (PACT), that adapts the duly cycle to the user traffic. In other words, the radio is powered off if the network is inactive. Moreover, we apply passive clustering to take advantage of the redundant dense topology and prolong the lifetime of the entire network even further. At a given time, only a subset of network nodes (i.e., cluster heads and gateways) participates in the communication. The role of cluster heads and gateways is rotated according to their energy levels. The clustering requires no explicit control messages and therefore incurs negligible energy overhead. Using the proposed protocol, simulation and analytical results show significant improvement in energy saving and network lifetime.
Establishment of Primary Port without Insertion of a Sharp Trocar

A new method allows a primary laparoscopic port to be established without inserting a Veress needle or sharp cannula. In this prospective case series of 348 consecutive healthy women undergoing elective laparoscopic sterilization, the laparoscope was complemented with an access cannula that enabled the surgeon to guide it directly into the abdominal cavity.
c-Myc Sensitization to Oxygen Deprivation-induced Cell Death Is Dependent on Bax/Bak, but Is Independent of p53 and Hypoxia-inducible Factor-1

Deregulated expression of c-Myc can sensitize cells to a variety of death stimuli, including loss of growth factors and oxygen. In this study, we examined whether rodent fibroblasts that conditionally express c-Myc undergo a similar mechanism of cell death in response to serum or oxygen deprivation. Our results demonstrate that murine embryonic fibroblasts from bax-/-bak-/- mice that conditionally express c-Myc did not die in response to either oxygen or serum deprivation. Fibroblasts from p53-/- mice that conditionally express c-Myc died in response to oxygen (but not serum) deprivation. The inability of p53 to regulate oxygen deprivation-induced cell death was due to the lack of induction of p53 target genes Puma, Noxa, and Pten. In contrast, serum deprivation transcriptionally induced Puma and Pten in cells that conditionally express c-Myc. The failure of p53 to regulate oxygen deprivation-induced cell death led us to hypothesize whether hypoxia-inducible factor (HIF) might be a critical regulator of cell death during oxygen deprivation. Fibroblasts from HIF-1β-/- cells that conditionally express c-Myc were not able to transcriptionally activate HIF during oxygen deprivation. These cells died in response to oxygen deprivation. Thus, oxygen deprivation-induced cell death in fibroblasts with deregulated expression of c-Myc is independent of p53 or HIF-1 status, but is dependent on the Bcl-2 family member Bax or Bak to initiate mitochondrial dependent cell death.
The Tissue Plasminogen Activator-Plasminogen Proteolytic Cascade Accelerates Amyloid-β (Aβ) Degradation and Inhibits Aβ-Induced Neurodegeneration

Accumulation of the amyloid-β (Aβ) peptide depends on both its generation and clearance. To better define clearance pathways, we have evaluated the role of the tissue plasminogen activator (tPA)-plasmin system in Aβ degradation in vivo . In two different mouse models of Alzheimer's disease, chronically elevated Aβ peptide in the brain correlates with the upregulation of plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 (PAI-1) and inhibition of the tPA-plasmin system. In addition, Aβ injected into the hippocampus of mice lacking either tPA or plasminogen persists, inducing PAI-1 expression and causing activation of microglial cells and neuronal damage. Conversely, Aβ injected into wild-type mice is rapidly cleared and does not cause neuronal degeneration. Thus, the tPA-plasmin proteolytic cascade aids in the clearance of Aβ, and reduced activity of this system may contribute to the progression of Alzheimer's disease.
Candida albicans associated with the gastrointestinal tract of the common pigeon (Columba livia)

Candida albicans was cultured from the upper gastrointestinal tract of 44% and from the lower alimentary tract in 6% of 50 common pigeons (Columba livia). Thirty per cent of the samples of pigeon droppings collected from different locations were positive for the yeast. The colony forming units for positive samples ranged from 2 × 102-2·8 × 106 per g dry feces. The percentage of antigenic Groups A and B for the strains of C. albicans isolated was approximately the same as for strains isolated from human sources.
Infant mice with glutaric acidaemia type I have increased vulnerability to 3-nitropropionic acid toxicity

Glutaric acidaemia type I (GA I) is an inborn error of metabolism caused by a deficiency of glutaryl-CoA dehydrogenase (GCDH) and is characterized clinically by striatal degeneration that almost always occurs in early childhood. A murine knockout model of GA I has the organic aciduria seen in the human disorder, but this model does not develop striatal degeneration spontaneously. 3-Nitropropionic acid (3NP), a succinic dehydrogenase inhibitor with specificity for the striatum, was investigated as a potential initiator of striatal degeneration in GCDH-deficient mice. This study shows that GCDH-deficient mouse pups are more susceptible to 3NP than their wild-type littermates, and that all mouse pups are more sensitive to 3NP as infants than as adolescents and adults. Increased sensitivity to 3NP early in life may model the developmental window for the striatal damage observed in human GA I.
A modeling approach of web-based mobile parking guidance system and secured EHR in e-Healthcare

To perform research and experiment in enhancing the timeliness and efficiency of providing healthcare service in e-Healthcare, a modeling approach is designed and implemented to integrate a parking guidance system (PGS) with an electronic health record (EHR) system. The integrated system provides advanced services for two healthcare groups: 1) patients who need immediate urgent care, and 2) healthcare providers who perform emergency medical services and operations. By entering a zip code of a selected area and patient's basic data, the system would return the three most optimal urgent care providers in the selected area, from which the user of the system can choose and submit essential patient's data to; the system would then return three progressive levels of navigation information: 1) from home to hospital, 2) at hospital's parking facility, and 3) inside hospital; furthermore, the system would reserve a parking space and complete registration prior to the patient's arrival at the hospital's urgent care facility. To provide efficient and convenient e-healthcare services, the integrated system must be available on mobile devices; hence, the server has been implemented as a web service server, and a mobile web service client, along with its desktop counterpart, is a part of the integrated system. Lastly, this integrated system addresses various security issues in privacy, integrity and confidentiality of the patient's medical record data.
Inertial Compensation for Belt Acceleration in an Instrumented Treadmill

Abstract Instrumented treadmills provide a convenient means for applying horizontal perturbations during gait or standing. However, varying the treadmill belt speed introduces inertial artifacts in the sagittal plane moment component of the ground reaction force. Here we present a compensation method based on a second-order dynamic model that predicts inertial pitch moment from belt acceleration. The method was tested experimentally on an unloaded treadmill at a slow belt speed with small random variations (1.20±0.10 m/s) and at a faster belt speed with large random variations (2.00±0.50 m/s). Inertial artifacts of up to 12 Nm (root-mean-square, RMS) and 30 Nm (peak) were observed. Coefficients of the model were calibrated on one trial and then used to predict and compensate the pitch moment of another trial with different random variations. Coefficients of determination ( R 2 ) were 72.08% and 96.75% for the slow and fast conditions, respectively. After compensation, the root-mean-square (RMS) of the inertial artifact was reduced by 47.37% for the slow speed and 81.98% for fast speed, leaving only 1.5 Nm and 2.1 Nm of artifact uncorrected, respectively. It was concluded that the compensation technique reduced inertial errors substantially, thereby improving the accuracy in joint moment calculations on an instrumented treadmill with varying belt speed.
Spinal cord monitoring

Over the past two decades, intraoperative spinal cord monitoring has matured into a widely used clinical tool. It is used when the spinal cord is at risk for damage during a surgical procedure. This includes orthopedic, neurosurgical, and certain cardiothoracic procedures. Both somatosensory evoked potential (SEP) and direct motor pathway stimulation techniques are available. The SEP techniques are used most widely, are generally accepted, and have been shown to reduce surgical morbidity. A large multicenter study has shown that SEP monitoring reduces postoperative paraplegia by more than 50-60%. Techniques and literature on clinical applications are reviewed in this report.
Correlated Studies of a Recombinant Influenza-Virus Vaccine. II. Definition of Antigenicity in Experimental Animals

The present experiments were designed to assess the immunogenic properties of an inactivated influenza-virus vaccine made from a recombinant virus (X-31) that possesses the surface antigens of Aichi virus and the growth capacity in eggs of A0/PR8 virus. Antibody response in mice and rabbits was tested by assay for titers of hemagglutination inhibition, plaque inhibition, plaque-size reduction, and neuraminidase inhibition following immunization with graded doses of the recombinant vaccine and a standard Aichi virus vaccine of equivalent antigenic content, as determined by the chick-cell-agglutination test. The X-31 vaccine was slightly more effective in eliciting antibody to hemagglutinin in both rabbits and mice and was also more effective than Aichi vaccine in increasing the resistance of mice to the initiation of infection with Aichi virus. Similar titers of antibody to neuraminidase were elicited by the two vaccines, and both were more potent in stimulating antibody to hemagglutinin than to neuraminidase. The results indicate that the recombinant vaccine was at least as effective as a standard vaccine in its immunogenic properties. In addition, the results of these experiments raise questions regarding the accuracy of the chick-cell-agglutination test as a method for assaying immunogenic potency.
The developmental genetics of auditory hair cells

Loss of auditory hair cells (AHCs) is a major cause of human deafness. Considerable effort has been devoted to unraveling how these mechanotransducers of sound are specified, with a view to correcting hearing loss by gene or stem cell therapies. Recent work on signaling cascades, particularly lateral inhibition and planar cell polarity, has begun to tie together some of the known pathways. Mutations in mice and humans that cause hearing and/or balance disorders are also shedding light on how AHCs are specified and, maintained and handle ion flux. Studies on some of these genes are beginning to provide insights into the more complex genetics of later onset forms of hearing loss. Progress has also been made in solving some long-term goals of auditory biology. Cadherin23 has been identified as a component of AHC stereocilia tip links, and progress has been made towards identifying the elusive AHC mechanoreceptor channel. Preliminary steps have also been taken towards inner-ear gene therapy, and in the engineering of embryonic stem cells for eventual cell therapies. Mammals cannot regenerate AHCs, but birds and other lower vertebrates can. Genomic tools have now been brought to bear on this problem with the aim of deciphering the molecular basis of this regenerative capability. The combination of new genomic tools and the many mouse and chicken embryological and genetic resources should increasingly provide new insights into how AHCs are programed and maintained.
Controlled localized thrombolysis with the "turbo" trellis to treat acute arterial occlusions following major surgery.

l l Purpose: To present the management of acute arterial ischemia following major abdominal and orthopedic surgery using a percutaneous thrombectomy device and a low dose of thrombolytic agent. Case Report: A 38-year-old woman with T-8 paraplegia from a traumatic fall developed pelvic osteomyelitis, for which a left hemipelvectomy, hysterectomy, and partial vaginal resection were performed. Twelve hours after the procedure, the patient developed an ischemic left leg. Computed tomographic angiography demonstrated an occlusion of the left external iliac and common femoral arteries. A Turbo Trellis percutaneous thrombec- tomy device was used to lyse the left external iliac artery thrombosis using 1 mg of tissue plasminogen activator infused between the proximal and distal occluding balloons of the device. Total dispersion time was 5 minutes. There was complete thrombus removal with- out any significant bleeding complications. At 6 months, the artery remains widely patent. Conclusions: Combination therapy with mechanical thrombectomy devices and low dose thrombolytic agents can be used to treat acute arterial occlusions at a single setting. The increased speed of the Turbo Trellis may allow for smaller doses of thrombolytic agents and shorter treatment times. J Endovasc Ther 2004;11:339-343
Acute cervical spine trauma: diagnostic performance of single-view versus three-view radiographic screening.

PURPOSE: To compare the diagnostic accuracy of single-view and three-view cervical spine radiographs in acute trauma. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Radiographs of 97 patients with acute cervical spine fractures were matched with those of 92 proved normal cases. Fourteen radiologists, including three senior attending radiologists each with more than 20 years of post-residency experience, four junior attending radiologists each with less than 5 years of practice experience, three senior radiology residents in their 3rd or 4th year of radiology residency, and four junior radiology residents at the end of their 1st year of radiology training, interpreted each case twice: once as a lateral-only study and again as a three-view study. Multireader-multicase receiver operating characteristic analysis was performed. Difficult cases were reviewed for trends in the errors. RESULTS: Eight of 14 readers detected fractures better with the three-view series. Among junior attending radiologists, the differences were statisticall...
A Fluid Limit for Cache Algorithms with General Request Processes

We introduce a formal limit, which we refer to as a fluid limit, of scaled stochastic models for a cache managed with the Least-Recently-Used algorithm when requests are issued according to general stochastic point processes, which may be non-stationary. We define our fluid limit as a superposition of dependent replications of the original system with smaller item sizes as the number of replications approaches infinity. We derive the average probability that a requested item is not in a cache (average miss probability) in the fluid limit. The usefulness of the fluid limit is demonstrated in two ways. First, our numerical experiments show that, when items are requested according to inhomogeneous Poisson processes, the average miss probability in the fluid limit closely approximates that in the original system as long as there are sufficient number of items. Second, we show that the asymptotic characteristics of the average miss probability as the cache size approaches infinity are often preserved in the fluid limit. This preservation is attractive since the asymptotic analysis in the fluid limit appears to be simpler than that in the original system. In addition, we show that the average miss probability in the fluid limit is asymptotically insensitive to particular dependencies in the requests when the request rates have a light tail, a property not known for the original system.
Long-term functional outcome of patients following the mustard procedure: the next decade of follow-up.

Background. Nearly 10 years ago, we studied a population of patients with d-transposition of the great arteries (DTGA) who had undergone the Mustard procedure 8–26 years earlier. The present study was undertaken to determine how that cohort of patients is currently functioning. Methods. Of the 45 original patients, 44 were located. Six (13%) had either died (n = 4) or received a cardiac transplant (n = 2). In total, 35 of the remaining 38 patients (78%) chose to undergo testing. Systemic right ventricular ejection fraction (RVEF) was estimated using radionuclide angiocardiography. Exercise stress testing, echocardiography, Holter monitoring, and a quality of life questionnaire were also performed. Results. Those 6 that died or received cardiac transplantation did so between 16 and 25 years of age. The surviving participants ranged in age from 19 to 37 years. Peak oxygen consumption was significantly diminished at 27.7 ± 6.9 mL/kg/min. Comparison of exercise duration from the original study demonstrated a significant decrease (11.2 ± 2.2 minutes to 9.1 ± 2.9 minutes) (P < 0.001). Comparison of RVEF data from the original study did not demonstrate a significant decrease (0.54 ± 0.10 to 0.53 ± 0.10) (P = 0.27). Quality of life data suggested that Mustard patients do not score as well in physical functioning, general health, and level of energy as normal adults, but are comparable with adult patients with other chronic diseases. Mustard patients are similar to normal adults and feel better than other adults with chronic illness in their interpretation of social functioning and bodily pain. Conclusion. Cardiac mortality of 13% occurred during the second and third decade of life in this cohort of patients with DTGA palliated by the Mustard procedure. Despite continuing deterioration in exercise performance, right ventricular function, and cardiac rhythm, many surviving patients with DTGA continue to lead normal lives into the 4th decade after Mustard procedure.
An approach to identify influential building blocks and linkages in an information resource network

An information resource network (IRN) is a time-ordered and potentially interrelated set of information elements. Examples include papers within a research domain, blog postings dealing with a certain topic, and information records within a company. We present a structured analysis to identify influential building blocks and linkages in a general IRN and show that our approach can be used for large networks of information nodes. Our method compensates for biases that can emerge at the edges of such time-dependent networks. Importantly, our focus is on the information elements and not on the authors of such information. We illustrate this process using one example of a resource network - research papers in a given domain. Our method can be implemented in any domain that can be represented as time-ordered, interrelated components of information sets.
Abuse History is related to Autonomic Regulation to Mild Exercise and Psychological Wellbeing

We investigated the potential impact of abuse history on autonomic regulation and psychological wellbeing in a sample of women who reported a history of abuse without Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. To measure autonomic regulation, heart rate data was collected before and after the participant rode a stationary bike for one mile. We found that abuse history was associated with less vagal regulation of the heart (i.e., respiratory sinus arrhythmia) and an inability to rapidly re-engage vagal regulation immediately following mild exercise to support a calm physiological state. These findings are consistent with clinical impressions that abused individuals may have a lower threshold to express fight/flight behaviors in response to stress and have difficulty shifting from mobilization to calmness. We also found that abuse history was related to psychological wellbeing. Women with an abuse history reported a greater use of dysfunctional coping methods and lower self-concept. Further, analyses indicated that there was a cumulative effect, whereby women who reported more recent abuse reported using more dysfunctional coping methods, having more mood disturbance, and lower self-concept. The findings underscore the importance of evaluating both the psychological and physiological effects of trauma, even in the absence of a diagnosis of PTSD.
An Improved Active Common-Mode Voltage Compensation Device for Induction Motor Drives

This paper presents a new device for the compensation of common-mode (CM) disturbance in induction motor drives, based on the active cancellation approach. The detailed design and the experimental implementation issues of the new active compensation device for a 380-V/50-Hz pulsewidth-modulation (PWM) induction motor drive are discussed. Starting from the idea of the active common-noise canceller, the proposed active compensation device is suitably improved in order to overcome the limitations of similar previously proposed circuits. In fact, it can be successfully used within a drive system with a rated voltage of 380 V or higher by employing an improved active circuit with a dedicated dc power supply derived from the ac power supply line. In addition, the design follows the criteria of compactness and minimum cost. The performance of the realized active compensation device is verified through experimental measurements of the CM voltage, the CM current, and the motor shaft voltage. The effectiveness of the proposed solution is demonstrated by experimental results.
Remotely Operated and Autonomous Mapping System (ROAMS)

The development of a relatively low cost mobile 3D mapping robot prototype named ROAMS (Remotely Operated and Autonomous Mappings Systems) which enables rapid generation of high resolution 3D maps of indoor/outdoor environments is presented. The Robotic system generates 3D maps using a video registered Lidar scanning system integrated with a multiple degree of freedom actuator. This vehicle is also used as a test platform for conducting studies and real-time experiments on autonomous operations. Environmental awareness sensors in combination with a long range wireless communications system is used to enable remote operation and monitoring of ROAMS. Techniques for improving the resolution and point distribution of Lidar data through the use of video images and actuator speed control are also investigated and presented.
Factors Affecting Medication Adherence in Hypertensive Patients

BACKGROUND:Adherence to medication is a critical factor in the continued health and well-being of patients with hypertension. Patients' acceptance of medical advice and information may be influenced by their subjective beliefs about their health condition; therefore, it is essential that their beliefs be taken into account when giving health advice or medical treatment.OBJECTIVE:To determine whether a relationship exists between illness attribution, perceived control, and adherence to antihypertensive medications.METHODS:A prospective, cross-sectional survey of hypertensive patients was conducted at the University of Michigan Medical Centers, Hypertension Clinic, Ann Arbor, MI. One hundred two patients with a goal to reduce their blood pressure were included in the study. Written and follow-up telephone survey questions assessing patients' illness attributions, perceived control, and medication adherence were administered. Associations between these variables were analyzed using correlation analyses.RESUL...
USING GIS TO DESCRIBE RISK AND NEIGHBORHOOD-LEVEL FACTORS ASSOCIATED WITH SUBSTANCE ABUSE TREATMENT OUTCOMES

Neighborhood-level geographic factors may put individuals at risk of developing substance abuse problems. The purpose of this descriptive study was to assess the spatial distribution of risk in Buffalo, New York. The study serves as an example of how neighborhood geographical markers can be used to determine areas with elevated risk that may lead providers to better target and address substance use disorder prevalence in communities. Results showed highest risk for negative treatment outcomes in areas with either high socioeconomic or physical environmental risk; maximum total risk was largely located on the Lower West Side, West Side, and East Sides of Buffalo, while maximum socioeconomic and physical environmental risks were dispersed throughout the city. This landscape model and risk assessment delineates the distribution of risk factors associated with negative treatment outcomes and is therefore a useful tool for treatment providers who wish to better target interventions.
Gaia: an object-oriented framework for an Ada environment

Gaia is a framework that provides the basis for the high degree of integration required by Ada environments that will involve complex data structures, toolsets, and development processes. This framework is implemented in Ada and provides an object model for representing the complex structure of data entities as well as the complex tools that can be applied to those entities within an Ada environment. The framework provides a common set of machine-independent interfaces supporting the integration of new and existing tools without modification. It also provides users with object-oriented guidance in selecting objects and applying tools. >
Are mobile device examinations practiced like ‘forensics’?

Gary C. Kessler considers the issue of mobile device forensics and the relationship between digital forensics and other forensic sciences, and compares mobile device forensics to the broader field of digital forensics. Index words: Cell phone forensics, computer forensics, digital forensics, mobile device forensics
State Archives and Issues of Personal Privacy: Policies and Practices

This article reports the results of a survey of the fifty state archives on the public policy issues of personal privacy and access to restricted records for social research. The evidence suggests that although one-third of the sample respondents recognize the dilemma of competing values, most do not find it difficult to decide which value is preeminent. The findings suggest that policies and practices for responding to requests for restricted records are not well developed. Institutional constraints place a low priority on access to confidential records for social research, archivists are not well informed about confidentiality and access statutes, and archivists are not politically active.
Growing resources for growing cities: Density and the cost of municipal public services in Latin America

We find that per capita municipal spending on public services is strongly and non-linearly correlated to urban population density. Optimal expenditure levels for municipal services are achieved with densities close to 9000 residents per square kilometre. In our study of about 8600 municipalities of Brazil, Chile, Ecuador and Mexico, 85% of all municipalities are below this ideal density level. This result provides strong policy support for densification, particularly in medium-sized cities of developing countries, which are currently absorbing most of the world’s urban population growth.
Study of Electrolytic Dissolution in Steels and Rare Earth Oxide Stability

Improving the mechanical properties of steels requires an accurate knowledge of inclusions’ shape and size. This work examined the dissolution rate of 1030 steel for two electrolytic solutions and the stability of several oxides. The dissolution rate was compared between two electrolytes (2 % TEA and 10 % AA) for up to 16 h. Also, the study of oxide stability in 2 % TEA was performed. Standard pure oxide powders such as Al2O3, NbO, NbO2, La2O3, and CeO2 were tested by adding 1 g each in 2 % TEA, while it was dissolving a test steel sample for 24 h. In this study, the actual weight of oxides was analyzed by the difference in weight before and after the electrolytic test run. It was observed that NbO and Al2O3 weighed 0.95 and 0.97 g after the electrolytic test, whereas other oxides were more stable during the electrolytic extraction. The stability test indicates that rare earth oxides are stable enough without dissolving and this helps in studying the rare earth inclusions morphology after extracting steel samples.
Milk Let-Down Activity of Synthetic Oxytocin (Syntocinon) and Relaxin in Lactating Rats.∗

Summary1) A synthetic oxytocin, (Syntocinon, Sandoz), injected i.v. into Nembutal anaesthetized lactating rats in doses of .02, .05 and .1 USP/kg a few minutes after the young had commenced to nurse resulted in milk let-down after a latent period of 5–8 seconds and seemed to persist 4–5 minutes. Amount of milk thus obtained expressed as percent litter body weight corresponded very well with data similarly obtained previously with same doses of natural oxytocin. It is concluded Syntocinon and natural oxytocin possess equivalent milk let-down activity. 2) Relaxin injected i.v. in dose of 600–1200 Guinea Pig Units into 10 anaesthetized lactating rats failed to initiate milk let-down.
Effect of Inclusions on Shrinkage

The effects of inclusions on densification are discussed, including their influence on the development of stresses during drying, and on the kinetics of sintering. Special attention is given to the problem of crystallization during sintering.
Risk Stratification of Diabetics With Stress Testing: Can We Do Better?

It is estimated that 9% of adults or 347 million people worldwide have diabetes mellitus, and cardiovascular disease including coronary artery disease (CAD), stroke, peripheral arterial disease, heart failure, and cardiomyopathy is estimated to account for between 50% and 80% of deaths in diabetics.1,2 Diabetes mellitus has been designated as a cardiovascular disease risk equivalent for both lipid and hypertension treatment goals3,4 and risk factor modification is recommended in all diabetics.5 Nevertheless, as the number of diabetics is expected to grow, total deaths from diabetes mellitus are projected to increase by >50% in 10 years.1 CAD tends to be more severe and to occur at an earlier age in diabetics. In patients with diabetes mellitus and known CAD, the risk for future events is particularly high.3,6,7 Considering the magnitude of the problem of diabetes mellitus–related cardiovascular disease, stress testing of diabetics with known or suspected CAD would seem a reasonable approach to guide therapy, including intensive medical therapy and coronary revascularization. Stress testing, and subsequent intervention, might reduce patients’ risk of cardiovascular morbidity and mortality. Article see by Cortigiani et al The study by Cortigiani et al8 in this issue of Circulation: Cardiovascular Imaging compared the use of stress echocardiography in predicting mortality in diabetics versus nondiabetics and sought to determine if the parameters related to outcome were different in the 2 groups. The study comprised an impressively large unselected population of 2835 diabetics and 11 305 nondiabetics referred for stress echocardiography for evaluation of known or suspected CAD at 2 Italian institutions during a 16-year period. There were few exclusion criteria and over a median follow-up of 30 months, only 2% were lost to follow-up. The mean age of the patients …
Dual-crosslinked hydrogel microwell system for formation and culture of multicellular human adipose tissue-derived stem cell spheroids

Three-dimensional (3D) multicellular spheroids of human adipose tissue-derived stem cells (hASCs) are an attractive system for basic science studies and tissue engineering applications, as they can resemble cellular condensations present in developmental and healing processes. The purpose of this study was to engineer a hydrogel-based microwell platform by capitalizing on the differential swelling behavior of micropatterned dual-crosslinked oxidized, methacrylated alginate (OMA)/multi-arm polyethylene glycol (PEG) hydrogels for rapid formation of uniform multicellular hASC spheroids with controllable size and evaluation of the capacity of the system to be used to drive osteogenic differentiation of the spheroids. By changing the micropattern size, the size of the hydrogel microwells was easily controllable. Microwell-seeded hASCs generated spheroids of relatively uniform size and high cell viability. hASC spheroids exhibited rapid mineralization in osteogenic media, which was faster than that of conventional two-dimensionally cultured hASCs. This new hydrogel microwell system has great potential for controlled multicellular spheroid formation and defined signal presentation from the hydrogel material to the cell aggregates to regulate tissue formation.
3D-Printed Animatronic Hand with Wireless Mirroring Glove and Precision Control (Abstract Only)

This paper describes the building of a remotely-controlled prosthetic hand. The project has five elements: 1. 3D modeling and printing the hand parts and the casings for the entire system; 2. assembling the joints with strings attached to servomotors; 3. two Arduino boards programmed such that the prosthetic hand mirrors the finger motions of a sensor-equipped glove worn by a human; 4. Bluetooth communication between the sensors on the glove and the Arduino board, which moves the fingers of the prosthetic hand by pulling strings attached to the servomotors; and 6. experiments on the completed hand to refine the relationship between the Arduino commands and the precise motions of the finger joints. Future work is also described involving electro-sensors on upper muscles with the intention of controlling the prosthetic hand based on the detected electrical signals in the muscles.
Synthesis and Reactivity of (DPPE){(C6H5)(C6H4)PCH2CH2P(C6H5)2}RuCl

The compound trans-(DPPE)2RuCl2 (1) undergoes reaction in neat trimethylaluminum to afford two products: trans-(DPPE)2RuCH3Cl (2) and Mechanistic studies suggest that the ortho-metalation reaction...
Neurobehavioral presentations of the antiphospholipid antibody syndrome

Antiphospholipid antibodies, including lupus anticoagulant and anticardiolipin antibodies, are increasingly recognized as a cause of neurological morbidity. They may occur with or without evidence of systemic lupus erythematosus and have been associated with stroke, migraine, and confusional states. Their role as etiologic or contributing factors in neurobehavioral and neuropsychiatric syndromes of obscure etiology has not been emphasized. The cases of 7 patients who were referred for evaluation of behavior abnormalities and had antiphospholipid antibodies are presented, and the potential relationships of the antiphospholipid antibody syndrome to behavioral alterations are discussed.
Overreaction and Underreaction to REIT Dividend Announcements and the Role of Monetary Policy

Executive Summary. This paper examines the reactions of investors in Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) to 11,650 REIT dividend announcements that occurred between January 1, 1970 and March 31, ...
A simple technique for anticipating and managing secondary puncture site hemorrhage during laparoscopic surgery : a report of two cases

BACKGROUND : Clinically significant hemorrhage from secondary port sites at laparoscopy is an uncommon but serious complication and can go unrecognized intraoperatively. CASES : A 28-year-old woman undergoing operative laparoscopy sustained abdominal wall vessel injury and required a blood transfusion. A second patient received the same injury but, when the author's technique was used, had minimal blood loss and a benign postoperative course. With this technique, a blunt instrument is placed through the sheath and into the peritoneal cavity before any secondary port is removed. The sheath is withdrawn, only the probe is kept in the abdomen, and then hemorrhage usually becomes evident. CONCLUSION : A new technique aids the diagnosis of occult abdominal vessel injury and allows rapid recanalization of the secondary trocar sheath paths.
Breast tumor xenografts of luminal subtype switch to the ERBB2+ molecular subtype in response to endocrine therapy: Gene expression profiling may not predict pathways of resistance in pretreatment tumors

B159 Background: Of the breast cancer patients treated with therapies targeting estrogen receptor (ER) or HER2, many do not respond, and of those who do, many acquire resistance over time. Materials and Methods: Previously, we have used a breast cancer xenograft model system to investigate the mechanisms of acquired resistance to targeted therapies in vivo. In this study, we profiled the expression of over 50,000 gene transcripts in xenograft tumors that were either ER+/HER2+ (thought to represent the luminal B subtype) or ER+/HER2- (luminal A subtype) prior to treatment and then after they developed resistance to the various treatment regimens. An important aspect of our study was to compare the gene signatures derived from our model systems with gene signatures derived from breast cancers from patients that define specific molecular subtypes (luminal A, luminal B, basal, and ERBB2+), to assess how our models might represent breast cancer in the clinical setting. Results: We observed in each of our model systems that acquired resistance to various ER targeted therapies transformed the associated clinically-defined molecular profile subtype of breast cancer from an ER+ tumor (luminal subtype) that relied upon the estrogen pathway for growth to an ER-/HER2+ tumor (ERBB2+ subtype) that relied upon the HER2 growth factor receptor signaling pathway. On the basis of gene expression, it was evident that the ER+/HER2- tumors initially relied upon the estrogen pathway and so would be initially sensitive to estrogen deprivation, but we could not have predicted HER2 as one mechanism of acquired resistance solely on the basis of the profile data from the pre-treatment tumors. Discussion: One popular idea in molecular oncology is to identify molecular markers predicting tumor response to targeted therapies. Breast cancer treatment is a prime example of this idea being put into clinical practice, with patients whose tumors express ER receiving endocrine therapy and patients whose tumors express HER2 receiving anti-HER2 therapy. At the same time, our study suggests that using gene expression of pre-treatment tumors to predict response might be limited to predicting initial response, and would not necessarily be predictive of possible mechanisms of acquired resistance. Our study lends support to a cancer treatment paradigm that targets not only the tumor in its pre-treatment state, but also the tumor as it might manifest itself during tumor progression and acquired resistance to treatment.
Outcomes and toxicity following high-dose radiation therapy in 15 fractions for non-small cell lung cancer.

Abstract Purpose Accelerated hypofractionated radiation therapy (AHRT) is increasingly used for select lung cancer patients. We evaluated clinical outcomes and predictors of pulmonary/esophageal toxicity in patients treated with ≥52.5 Gy in 15 fractions. Methods and materials We evaluated 229 patients treated with radiation therapy doses ≥52.5 Gy in 15 fractions for non-small cell lung cancer from January 2009 through January 2016. Toxicity was scored using Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events, v4.0. Univariate and multivariate logistic regression was used to identify predictors of toxicity. Overall survival, progression-free survival, and local control were estimated using the Kaplan-Meier method. Predictors of clinical outcome were modeled using Cox proportional hazards regression. Results Median follow-up was 7 months. Forty-two patients (19%) developed grade ≥2 pneumonitis, and 9 (4%) developed grade ≥3 esophagitis. In multivariate analysis, age >75 years (odds ratio [OR], 2.56; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.24-5.25; P = .01) and percentage of lung volume receiving doses of >10 Gy higher than 32% were associated with grade ≥2 pneumonitis (OR, 2.79; 95% CI, 1.39-5.79; P = .005). On univariate analysis, esophagus mean dose ≥17 Gy (OR, 10.14; 95% CI, 1.82-189.8; P = .006), gross tumor volume size ≥71 cm 3 ( P = .002), and planning target volume size ≥409 cm 3 ( P = .02) were associated with development of grade ≥3 esophagitis. In patients with stage II/III disease (n = 73), median local control was not reached, median overall survival was 14 months, and median progression-free survival was 6 months. Conclusions AHRT in 15 fractions can be safe and effective. Consideration for using AHRT with immunotherapy and sequential chemotherapy for improved out-of-radiation field and distant control is warranted.