cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Improved method of human islet isolation for young donors.

Abstract Background Although islet transplantation using young donors is more effective than older donors, islet isolation from young donor is notoriously difficult. This may relate to islet ontogeny and collagen composition in the young pancreas. Therefore, we examined whether a high concentration of collagenase could improve the separation of islets from exocrine tissues resulting in an high islet yield. Methods We used six human pancreata from brain-dead donors of less than 30 years old. Islet isolation was performed based on the Edmonton protocol with modifications. All pancreata were digested with Collagenase NB1 Premium Grade (Serva). The pancreas was expanded by injecting either 200 mL of cold collagenase solution (2.5 mg/mL, standard group, n = 3) or 100 mL of solution (5 mg/mL, new group, n = 3) in a controlled manner under low pressure for 5 minutes. Then the pressure was raised for another 5 minutes. The following procedure and evaluation were performed based on the Edmonton protocol. Results Phase II time in the new group was significantly shorter than the standard group. The ratio of embedded islets in the new group was significantly lower than the standard group. The postpurification islet equivalents per pancreas weight (IEQ/g) and the recovery rate in the new group were higher than the standard group, but not significantly. There was no significant difference in the postpurification purity, viability, and final tissue volume. Conclusion Our simple modification with an initially concentrated collagenase preparation using a syringe significantly improved the ratio of embedded islets, resulting in a higher yield from young donors.
Contribution of inadequate compensatory enlargement to development of human coronary artery stenosis: an in vivo intravascular ultrasound study.

Objectives. This intravascular ultrasound study sought to examine to what extent native coronary artery stenosis is accompanied by vessel wall thickening or inadequate compensatory enlargement (relative vessel constriction), or both. Background. In human femoral arteries, inadequate compensatory enlargement is reported to be a paradoxic mechanism for the development of severe arterial lumen narrowing. However, it is unclear in human coronary arteries whether inadequate compensatory enlargement contributes to the development of critical arterial stenosis. Methods. Thirty-five primary coronary artery lesions from 30 patients (19 men, 11 women; mean [±SD] age 65 ± 13 years) were imaged by intravascular ultrasound. The vessel cross-sectional area and lumen area were measured, and the wall area (vessel cross-sectional area minus lumen area) was calculated at the lesion site and at the proximal and distal reference sites. We defined compensatory enlargement to be present when the vessel cross-sectional area at the lesion site was larger than that at the proximal reference site, inadequate compensatory enlargement when the vessel cross-sectional area at the lession site was smaller than that at the distal reference site and intermediate remodelling when the vessel cross-sectional area at the lesion site was intermediate between the two reference sites. Results. Compensatory enlargement was observed in 19 (54%) of 35 lesions, inadequate compensatory enlargement in 9 (25%) of 35 and intermediate remodeling in 7 (20%) of 35. In the inadequate compensatory enlargement group, reduction of the vessel cross-sectional area contributed to 39% of lumen reduction. Conclusions. Compensatory enlargement commonly (54%) occurs at stenotic coronary lesions. However, inadequate compensatory enlargement results in a substantial amount (39%) of the lumen area reduction in 26% of primary coronary artery lesions.
The Efficiency of Artificial Breeding with Bull Semen One to Three Days Old

Summary The effect of age of semen upon breeding efficiency has been investigated in an artificial breeding association during two management periods. During the first period, semen of all bulls was used for 3 days at ages of 5 to 13, 29 to 37 and 53 to 61 hr. and resulted in respective non-return rates of 63.3, 62.0 and 55.7 per cent. During the second period, all semen was used 2 days at ages of 18 to 26 and 42 to 50 hr. with respective non-return rates of 61.5 and 58.2 per cent. Differences between bulls and associations were significant, but no effect of season was noted. Bulls varied greatly in the decline of their breeding efficiency with age of semen but rapid decline was not associated with either a low or a high first day non-return rate.
Estimating clock uncertainty for efficient duty-cycling in sensor networks

Radio duty cycling has received significant attention in sensor networking literature, particularly in the form of protocols for medium access control and topology management. While many protocols have claimed to achieve significant duty-cycling benefits in theory and simulation, these benefits have often not translated to practice. The dominant factor that prevents the optimal usage of the radio in real deployment settings is time uncertainty between sensor nodes. This paper proposes an uncertainty-driven approach to duty-cycling where a model of long-term clock drift is used to minimize the duty-cycling overhead. First, we use long-term empirical measurements to evaluate and analyze in-depth the interplay between three key parameters that influence long-term synchronization - synchronization rate, history of past synchronization beacons and the estimation scheme. Second, we use this measurement-based study to design a rate-adaptive, energy-efficient long-term time synchronization algorithm that can adapt to changing clock drift and environmental conditions while achieving application-specific precision with very high probability. Finally, we integrate our uncertainty-driven time synchronization scheme with a MAC layer protocol, BMAC, and empirically demonstrate one to two orders of magnitude reduction in the transmit energy consumption at a node with negligible impact on the packet loss rate.
Distribution of methionine and leucine enkephalin neurons within the social behavior circuitry of the male Syrian hamster brain

Enkephalin plays a role in the social behaviors of many species, but no corresponding role for this peptide has been investigated in the male Syrian hamster, a species in which brain nuclei controlling social behaviors have been identified. Previous studies have shown the distribution of dynorphin and beta-endorphin throughout social behavior circuits within the male hamster brain. To date, the only studies of enkephalin in the hamster brain address the distribution of this peptide in the olfactory bulb and hippocampus. The present study provides a complete map of enkephalinergic neurons within the forebrain and midbrain of the male Syrian hamster and addresses the question of whether enkephalin immunoreactive (Enk-ir) cells are found within brain regions relevant to male hamster social behaviors. Following immunocytochemistry for either methionine enkephalin (met-enkephalin) or leucine enkephalin (leu-enkephalin), we observed enkephalin localization consistent with data that have previously been reported in the rat, with notable exceptions including lateral septum, ventromedial nucleus of the hypothalamus and cingulate gyrus. Additionally, met- and leu-enkephalin localization patterns largely overlap. Consistent with the post-translational processing of preproenkephalin, met-enkephalin was more abundant than leu-enkephalin both within individual cells (darker staining), and within given brain nuclei (more met-enkephalin immunoreactive cells). Two exceptions were the posterointermediate bed nucleus of the stria terminalis, containing more neurons heavily labeled for leu-enkephalin, and the main olfactory bulb, where only met-enkephalin was observed. Of most interest for this study was the observation of Enk-ir cells and terminals in areas implicated in both sexual and agonistic behaviors in this species.
The Loyalty Effect: The Hidden Force Behind Growth, Profits, and Lasting Value

The article reviews the book “The Loyalty Effect: The Hidden Force Behind Growth, Profits, and Lasting Value,” by Frederick F. Reichheld.
Is your audit committee watching IT risks

Recent high-profile accounting disasters have put audit committees on the hot seat. Some want audit committees to lead the way in protecting against increased IT risks. But what is the committee's role? And what do CEOs need to know about audit committee oversight of it? © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Response Confidence and the Delay Retention Effect

Abstract The purposes of this study were to (a) reexamine the delay retention effect (Brackbill, Bravos, & Starr, 1962) using a recent model of feedback (Kulhavy & Stock, 1989) as a theoretical basis, (b) test the assumptions of the model using constructed response items, and (c) investigate the effects of different types of feedback on post-test performance. One hundred and fifty-four students read text, completed an initial test, judged confidences, received feedback, and completed a post-test. Results revealed: students who received feedback after a delay outperformed students who received feedback immediately; students who generated their own feedback were more precise in estimating confidence than those who were provided feedback. The predicted relationship between confidence and post-test performance emerged for initial corrects, but was weakened for errors. Results were linked to current models in memory research.
A new concept for noninvasive tinnitus treatment utilizing multimodal pathways

Current noninvasive treatments for tinnitus have shown mixed results. There have been encouraging developments in using invasive brain or vagal nerve stimulation to modulate neural populations driving the tinnitus percept. However, these invasive treatments can only be used in a small patient population with severe conditions. In this preliminary study, we present a new treatment option we call Multimodal Synchronization Therapy (MST), which attempts to achieve synchronized and localized brain activation without invasive neural stimulation. MST combines multiple sensory, motor, limbic, and cognitive inputs to elicit activation of multimodal neurons to potentially modulate specific neurons driving the tinnitus percept. We present preliminary data in a guinea pig model showing activation of somatosensory and auditory pathways to alter neural activity within the inferior colliculus, a multimodal integration region that has shown pathological changes in animals and patients with tinnitus. Electrical stimulation of different body locations induced excitatory responses in the inferior colliculus, eliciting responses in up to 41% of all recording sites for a given somatic site. Paired somatic and acoustic stimulation resulted in enhanced or suppressed acoustic-driven neural activity in the inferior colliculus that varied depending on stimulation and recording location. Similar modulation effects were observed in the auditory cortex, which may relate to changes in auditory perception. Further studies need to incorporate multiple multimodal pathways and must also confirm that MST can suppress the abnormal neural patterns that directly drive the tinnitus percept.
Plasma performance improvements with liquid lithium limiters in CDX-U

The use of flowing liquid lithium as a first wall for a reactor has potentially attractive physics and engineering features. The current drive experiment-upgrade (CDX-U) at the Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory has begun experiments with a fully toroidal liquid lithium limiter. CDX-U is a compact (R = 34 cm, a = 22 cm, B toroidal = 2 kG, J P = 100 kA, T e (0) ∼ 100 eV, n e (0) ∼ 5 × 10 19 m -3 ) short-pulse ( < 25 ms) spherical tokamak with extensive diagnostics. The limiter, which consists of a shallow circular stainless steel tray of radius 34 cm and width 10 cm, can be filled with lithium to a depth of a few millimeters, and forms the lower limiting surface for the discharge. Heating elements beneath the tray are used to liquefy the lithium prior to the experiment. The total area of the tray is approximately 2000 cm 2 . The tokamak edge plasma, when operated in contact with the lithium-filled tray, shows evidence of reduced impurities and recycling. The reduction in recycling and impurities is largest when the lithium is liquefied by heating to 250 °C. Discharges which are limited by the liquid lithium tray show evidence of performance enhancement. Radiated power is reduced and there is spectroscopic evidence for increases in the core electron temperature. Furthermore, the use of a liquid lithium limiter reduces the need for conditioning discharges prior to high current operation. The future development path for liquid lithium limiter systems in CDX-U is also discussed.
Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) Analysis of a Single-Stage Downhole Turbine

In this study, the application of computational fluid dynamics (CFD) is explored to predict the performance characteristics in a typical single-stage downhole turbine. The single-stage turbine model utilized for this study consists of a stator and a rotor. A finite-volume based CFD approach was implemented to simulate the complex flow field around the turbine. The analysis is based on transient, three-dimensional, isothermal turbulent flow in an incompressible fluid system. The inlet flow rates and angular velocity of the rotor were varied to encompass the operating regime.Comparison with experimental data revealed excellent agreement, proving reliability of the model in predicting the performance characteristics. Motivated by the successful model validation, a parametric study (considering blade tip clearance and blade count) was also conducted to understand the effects of the design parameters on the performance of the turbine. Detailed flow visualizations and efficiency calculations were also done to provide further insight into the overall performance of the turbine. As part of the present study, significant efforts were also spent in the following areas: standardization of CFD methodology and assessment of commercial software to develop an integrated CFD-driven design process.Copyright © 2013 by ASME
Biochemical and biophysical properties of a putative hub protein expressed by vaccinia virus.

H5 is a constitutively expressed, phosphorylated vaccinia virus protein that has been implicated in viral DNA replication, post-replicative gene expression, and virus assembly. For the purpose of understanding the role of H5 in vaccinia biology, we have characterized its biochemical and biophysical properties. Previously, we have demonstrated that H5 is associated with an endoribonucleolytic activity. In this study, we have shown that this cleavage results in a 3′-OH end suitable for polyadenylation of the nascent transcript, corroborating a role for H5 in vaccinia transcription termination. Furthermore, we have shown that H5 is intrinsically disordered, with an elongated rod-shaped structure that preferentially binds double-stranded nucleic acids in a sequence nonspecific manner. The dynamic phosphorylation status of H5 influences this structure and has implications for the role of H5 in multiple processes during virus replication.
Device- and LAA-Specific Characteristics for Successful LAA Closure: Tips and Tricks

Transcatheter left atrial appendage closure for stroke prevention with nonvalvular atrial fibrillation is an emerging alternative to oral anticoagulation. Several devices and approaches have been developed to achieve optimal closure. This article describes in detail the key procedural steps and the tips and tricks required to succeed in this transcatheter technique. The 4 devices covered are the WATCHMAN, AMPLATZER Cardiac Plug, Coherex WaveCrest generation 1.3, and the LARIAT suture delivery device.
Polarization analysis of optical systems

For most optical systems it is typically assumed that the transmitted wavefront has uniform for Gaussian) amplitude and constant polarization state. This is the default assumption of geometrical optics. This paper considers methods suitable for analyzing systems for which this assumption is not valid. Such methods of polarization analysis include polarization ray tracing and polarization aberration theory. Definitions of the basic classes of polarization phenomena and a review of the Jones calculus are included to form a basis for the discussion.
Tactile Contact by Deaf and Hearing Mothers During Face-to-Face Interactions With Their Infants

Tactile contact with an infant plays an important role (though one largely overlooked by researchers until recently) in the development of synchronous interactive dialogues between caregiver and child. Dyads in which one or both partners are deaf present a unique opportunity to examine the use of touch as a means of optimizing or enhancing communication when the number of available sensory channels is restricted. Touch in these dyads may play an important role in eliciting visual attention, in alerting the infant that signed communication is forthcoming, in assisting the infant to achieve emotional regulation, or in simply maintaining contact even when the deaf child has looked away from the partner. The data presented here represent one attempt to investigate the role of touch in relation to deaf infants and deaf parents, for whom it may play a particularly salient role. Both deaf and hearing mothers were observed in videotaped face-to-face interactions with their infants (also either deaf or hearing); maternal behavior was coded for each event during which mothers initiated tactile contact with the infant and was classified according to intensity, location on the infant's body, and type of touch (e.g., active vs. passive). Results of this study indicate that deaf mothers may be especially responsive to the tactile needs of their deaf infants, as shown by qualitative differences in their behavioral interactions with 6- and 9-month-olds. However, hearing mothers with deaf infants also appear to be incorporating more active forms of touch in their interactions, although they tend to rely on longer durations of tactile contact than do the deaf mothers.
Glial cell response: A pathogenic factor in Parkinson's disease

Parkinson's disease (PD) is a common neurodegenerative disorder characterized by the progressive loss of dopaminergic neurons in the substantia nigra pars compacta (SNpc). The loss of these neurons is associated with a glial response composed mainly of activated microglial cells and, to a lesser extent, of reactive astrocytes. This glial response may be the source of trophic factors and can protect against reactive oxygen species and glutamate. Alternatively, this glial response can also mediate a variety of deleterious events related to the production of pro-oxidant reactive species, proinflammatory prostaglandin, and cytokines. In this review, the authors discuss the potential protective and deleterious effects of glial cells in the SNpc of PD and examine how these factors may contribute to the pathogenesis of this disease.
A Comparison of Block-Based and Clip-Based Cooperative Caching Techniques for Streaming Media in Wireless Home Networks

Wireless home networks are widely deployed due to their low cost, ease of installation, and plug-and-play capabilities with consumer electronic devices. Participating devices may cache continuous media (audio and video clips) in order to reduce the demand for outside-the-home network resources and enhance the average delay incurred from when a user references a clip to the onset of its display (startup latency). In this paper, we focus on a home network consisting of a handful of devices configured with a mass storage device to cache data. A cooperative caching technique may manage the available cache space at the granularity of either a clip or individual blocks of a clip. The primary contribution of this paper is to evaluate these two alternatives using realistic specifications of a wireless home network, identifying factors that enable one to outperform the other.
Epidemiology of Bacteremia in Previously Healthy Febrile Infants: A Follow-up Study

OBJECTIVE: Describe the etiology of bacteremia among a geographically diverse sample of previously well infants with fever admitted for general pediatric care and to characterize demographic and clinical characteristics of infants with bacteremia according to bacterial etiology. We hypothesized that the epidemiology of bacteremia in febrile infants from a geographically diverse cohort would show similar results to smaller or single-center cohorts previously reported. METHODS: This was a retrospective review of positive, pathogenic blood cultures in previously healthy, febrile infants ≤90 days old admitted to a general unit. In total, there were 17 participating sites from diverse geographic regions of the United States. Cultures were included if the results were positive for bacteria, obtained from an infant 90 days old or younger with a temperature ≥38.0°C, analyzed using an automated detection system, and treated as pathogenic. RESULTS: Escherichia coli was the most prevalent species, followed by group B Streptococcus, Streptococcus viridans, and Staphylococcus aureus. Among the most prevalent bacteria, there was no association between gender and species (Ps > .05). Age at presentation was associated only with Streptococcus pneumoniae. There were no cases of Listeria monocytogenes. CONCLUSIONS: Our study confirms the data from smaller or single-center studies and suggests that the management of febrile well-appearing infants should change to reflect the current epidemiology of bacteremia. Further research is needed into the role of lumbar puncture, as well as the role of Listeria and Enterococcus species in infantile bacteremia.
Somatic embryogenesis and long term maintenance of embryogenic lines from fox grapes

In the present paper, a method for the induction and long-term maintenance embryogenic cultures for Vitis × Labruscana `Niagara' and `Fredonia' is reported. Embryogenic cultures from these two cultivars were induced in an embryogenesis establishment medium (CIM) from ovaries obtained from flowers 10–14 days pre-anthesis. The embryogenic lines obtained in this experiment have been stably maintained for more than 2 years, through repeated subcultures on a long-term maintenance medium (LTMM) without loss of embryogenic competence. Somatic embryo regeneration and maturation have been successfully achieved after 30 days of cultivating embryogenic cultures in an embryo regeneration medium (EDMM), supplemented with charcoal and polyethylene glycol. The somatic embryos were successfully germinated in two different media, `Fredonia' germination medium (FGM) and `Niagara' germination medium (NGM), and converted into normal looking plants on a conversion medium (CM).
Flexural Properties of Brittle Multilayer Materials: I, Modeling

Multilayer systems comprising brittle materials can exhibit substantially different behaviors under flexural and tensile loadings. The present article addresses the origins of such differences, with emphasis on the modeling of the flexural stress–strain response. Systems with both a deterministic tensile strength and a distribution in strengths (characterized by Weibull statistics) are considered. The model predictions show that both the ultimate strength and strain-to-failure in flexure exceed the corresponding values in uniaxial tension. In addition, systems comprising alternating layers of two different materials are examined, and disparities in the flexural and tensile behaviors addressed.
Enzyme kinetics in mammalian cells. III. Regulation of activities of galactokinase, galactose‐1‐phosphate uridyl transferase and uridine diphosphogalactose‐4‐epimerase in human erythrocytes

The sequential enzyme assay as previously described has been used to study various effects on the three enzymes in human red cells involved in the phosphorylation of galactose: galactokinase, galactose-1-phosphate uridyl transferase and uridine diphospho-galactose-4-epimerase. 1 Enzyme activities in undiluted lysates appear to reflect the respective activities in whole cells. 2 Added extracellular Gal-1-P, G-1-P, UDPGal and UPDG do not affect enzyme activities in whole cells. 3 The kinase and transferase enzymes do not appear to be associated with the membrane fraction of the red cells. 4 Galactokinase activity is inhibited by G-6-P and Gal-1-P, but not by glucose, G-1-P, UDPG, UDPGal, UTP or NAD+. It is inhibited by ATP and ADP in high concentration. 5 Galactose-1-phosphate uridyl transferase activity is inhibited by G-1-P, G-6-P, UDPG, UDPGal, ATP, and ADP. It is not affected by UTP, NAD+, or galactose. 6 Uridine diphospho-galactose-4-epimerase activity is inhibited by UDPG, ATP, ADP, UTP and NADH. It is stimulated by NAD+ and possibly by Gal-1-P. It is unaffected by G-1-P, G-6-P. 7 The rates of the three reactions decrease with decreasing temperature. The activities of transferase and epimerase are inactivated at the same rate, the kinase activity is inactivated more slowly. 8 Dilution experiments indicate the presence in lysates of a pool of UDPG (or, possibly UDPGal) which regulates the activities transferase and the epimerase enzymes. 9 Results of dilution experiments suggest that the radioactive product of the transferase enzyme is different from commercially available UDPGal-u-14C. 10 ATP, UTP and UDPG interact with some substance(s) in the red cell lysate to cause a time dependent inactivation of the epimerase. These interactions are the result of glucose metabolism.
The slump origin of the 1998 Papua New Guinea Tsunami

The origin of the Papua New Guinea tsunami that killed over 2100 people on 17 July 1998 has remained controversial, as dislocation sources based on the parent earthquake fail to model its extreme run–up amplitude. The generation of tsunamis by submarine mass failure had been considered a rare phenomenon which had aroused virtually no attention in terms of tsunami hazard mitigation. We report on recently acquired high–resolution seismic reflection data which yield new images of a large underwater slump, coincident with photographic and bathymetric evidence of the same feature, suspected of having generated the tsunami. T–phase records from an unblocked hydrophone at Wake Island provide new evidence for the timing of the slump. By merging geological data with hydrodynamic modelling, we reproduce the observed tsunami amplitude and timing in a manner consistent with eyewitness accounts. Submarine mass failure is predicted based on fundamental geological and geotechnical information.
3-D Ultrastructure of O. tauri: Electron Cryotomography of an Entire Eukaryotic Cell

The hallmark of eukaryotic cells is their segregation of key biological functions into discrete, membrane-bound organelles. Creating accurate models of their ultrastructural complexity has been difficult in part because of the limited resolution of light microscopy and the artifact-prone nature of conventional electron microscopy. Here we explored the potential of the emerging technology electron cryotomography to produce three-dimensional images of an entire eukaryotic cell in a near-native state. Ostreococcus tauri was chosen as the specimen because as a unicellular picoplankton with just one copy of each organelle, it is the smallest known eukaryote and was therefore likely to yield the highest resolution images. Whole cells were imaged at various stages of the cell cycle, yielding 3-D reconstructions of complete chloroplasts, mitochondria, endoplasmic reticula, Golgi bodies, peroxisomes, microtubules, and putative ribosome distributions in-situ. Surprisingly, the nucleus was seen to open long before mitosis, and while one microtubule (or two in some predivisional cells) was consistently present, no mitotic spindle was ever observed, prompting speculation that a single microtubule might be sufficient to segregate multiple chromosomes.
Adverse Effects of Low Level Heavy Metal Exposure on Male Reproductive Function

Lead, cadmium, mercury, and arsenic, often referred to as “heavy metals”, are toxic for wildlife, experimental animals, and humans. While experimental animal and human occupational studies with hig...
The distribution of eddy kinetic and potential energies in the global ocean

Understanding of the major sources, sinks, and reservoirs of energy in the ocean is briefly updated in a diagram. The nature of the dominant kinetic energy reservoir, that of the balanced variablity, is then found to be indistinguishable in the observations from a sum of barotropic and first baroclinic ordinary quasi-geostrophic modes. Little supporting evidence is available to partition the spectra among forced motions and turbulent cascades, along with significant energy more consistent with weakly non-linear wave dynamics. Linear-response wind-forced motions appear to dominate the high frequency (but subinertial) mooring frequency spectra. Turbulent cascades appear to fill the high wavenumber spectra in altimetric data and numerical simulations. Progress on these issues is hindered by the difficulty in connecting the comparatively easily available frequency spectra with the variety of theoretically predicted wavenumber spectra.
Vesicular localization of immunoreactive [Met5]enkephalin in the globus pallidus

Abstract The distribution of enkephalin immunoreactivity in the neuropil of globus pallidus was analyzed with a quick-freezing, postembedment-staining technique for light and electron microscopic immunocytochemistry. Fluorescence images of ultrathin sections on glass slides, obtained with a silicon-intensified-tube (type) video camera, revealed staining in the form of scattered fluorescent dots, each 200-400 nm in diameter. Colloidal gold staining under the electron microscope was associated with 80- to 100-nm vesicles of average electron density, widely dispersed in the neuropil, with usually one and no more than four vesicles in individual sectioned neuronal processes. Analysis of fluorescence images in paired serial sections of thicknesses varying from 25 to 150 nm proved that the 200- to 400-nm dots of fluorescence came from smaller structures, presumably the 80- to 100-nm vesicles. Enkephalinergic vesicles in the globus pallidus were nearly always found in what appeared to be axons of passage and were only infrequently associated with synaptic profiles.
Coccidioidomycosis: Changing Perceptions and Creating Opportunities for Its Control

The perceptions of coccidioidomycosis as a medical problem has undergone sequential and dramatic metamorphoses since its first description more than a century ago. First thought to be rare and lethal, coccidioidomycosis was subsequently found to be common and often mild. During World War II, its overall impact upon large populations came sharply into focus and the consequences for public health became clearer. Early treatments had significant limitations and toxicities, and therefore treatment of coccidioidomycosis was reserved for only the sickest patients. Since then, safer oral therapies have become commonplace. Despite their availability, there has been no investigation of their use in the less severe and much more common early infections. Even newer drugs such as nikkomycin Z, which might actually cure infections, until very recently have had trouble finding a sponsor to move it through clinical trials. Perceptions once formed by the understanding of coccidioidomycosis as a medical problem now appear to hinder the future study of newer therapeutic opportunities. It is suggested in this review that it is time to revisit and possibly change these perceptions if we are to improve our care of patients.
Cerenkov luminescence tomography for small-animal imaging

Cerenkov radiation is a well-known phenomenon in which optical photons are emitted by charged particles moving faster than the speed of light in a medium. We have observed Cerenkov photons emitted from β-emitting radiotracers such as F18-fluorodeoxyglucose using a sensitive CCD camera. Phantom and in vivo mouse imaging experiments have demonstrated that surface measurements of the emitted Cerenkov optical photons could be used to reconstruct the radiotracer activity distribution inside an object by modeling the optical photon propagation with the diffusion equation and reconstructing the optical emission source distribution iteratively with a preconditioned conjugate gradient method.
Wideband AlGaN-GaN HEMTs on SiC for low noise applications

AlGaN-GaN high electron mobility transistors (HEMTs) have attracted attention because of their extremely high current drive capability and high power performance. Although these GaN-based FETs are primarily considered for high power and high temperature applications, it is important to investigate their microwave noise characteristics. Indeed, the only report in literature (Ping et al, Electron. Lett. vol. 36, pp. 175-176, 2000) to date has shown that AlGaN-GaN HEMTs do have respectable noise properties that are comparable to those of AlGaAs-GaAs HEMTs. Specifically, we have recently reported on 0.25 /spl mu/m AlGaN-GaN HEMTs with a minimum noise figure (NF/sub min/) of 0.77 dB at 5 GHz and a NF/sub min/ of 1.06 dB at 10 GHz. These results are quite counter-intuitive to what might be expected due to the material properties, and especially the defect density, of GaN. However, the results do motivate further investigations of the noise properties of AlGaN-GaN HEMTs. In this paper, we report our latest results on DC, RF, and high frequency noise characteristics of AlGaN-GaN HEMTs, demonstrating a record bandwidth of 100 GHz and NF/sub min/ of 0.53 dB at 8 GHz.
On the nature and formal analysis of indexical presuppositions

This paper is divided into an empirical part and a theoretical part. The empirical part rediscovers a peculiar creature which was found by [Cooper, 1983] and then plunged back into the abyss of oblivion -- indexical presuppositions, a special kind of "presuppositions" which can only, according to Cooper, be satisfied in the actual world. Cooper claimed that presuppositions of the gender features of free anaphoric pronouns induce such non-projecting "presuppositions". I enlarge the empirical scope of the discovery by showing that, first, indexical presuppositions are induced by gender features of all anaphoric pronouns, not just the free ones; and second, that their satisfaction requirements are more complicated than simple "satisfaction in the actual world only." On the theoretical side, I sketch three possible analyses of indexical presuppositions. The first one relies on direct copying of features from the antecedent, but meets certain serious problems. More work is needed in order to figure out if that theory can actually be worked out. The second theory employs a very complex constraint on choosing the name for the world variable of the pronoun, crucially using both syntax of the sentence and the model against which it is interpreted. The third one, in a sense the least conventional of all three, moves all the work to semantics, and analyzes indexical presuppositions as conditions on a rich structure of worlds, somewhat doubling the structure of embedding in the formula, which replaces the standard single possible world evaluation parameter.
Pseudopapilledema and association with idiopathic intracranial hypertension

Diagnosing idiopathic intracranial hypertension (IIH), or pseudotumor cerebri, can be challenging in children. Diagnosis is based on lumbar puncture, opening pressures, and appearance of the optic disk. Misdiagnosis of papilledema, a typical finding, may lead to unnecessary treatments and procedures. We report 52 children over a 6-year period to better identify the true incidence of pseudopapilledema and other factors that may confound the diagnosis of IIH. A retrospective chart review approved by the Institutional Review Board was performed. Fifty-two children under the age of 21 referred to us based on suspected IIH or papilledema from 2007 to 2013 are included in this study. Patients were assessed by a pediatric ophthalmologist and a neurosurgeon. Fifty-two children were initially diagnosed with IIH and/or papilledema; 26 diagnoses were revised to pseudopapilledema after pediatric ophthalmological review. Out of those 26 patients with pseudopapilledema, 14 had undergone lumbar punctures, 19 had MRIs, 9 had CTs, and 12 were taking medications—these medications were discontinued upon revision of the diagnoses. The difference in the CSF opening pressure between children diagnosed with true IIH (32.7 cm H2O) and children diagnosed with pseudopapilledema (24.7 cm H2O) was statistically significant. IIH diagnosis is heavily reliant on the appearance of the optic disk. Pediatric ophthalmological assessment is essential to carefully examine the optic disk and prevent further unnecessary investigation and treatments. Close communication between pediatricians, ophthalmologists, and neurosurgeons can avoid invasive procedures for children who do have pseudopapilledema, and not IIH or associated papilledema.
China's Rural Land Politics: Bureaucratic Absorption and the Muting of Rightful Resistance

In recent years, the Chinese central state has launched the “new socialist countryside” campaign (NSCC), which authorizes the local state expropriation of rural land from farmers, and then incorporates evicted farmers into township residence and urban citizenship. In affected regions, this campaignenables local stateofficialsto enactpractices of bureaucraticabsorption that undermine potential resistance by bringing resisters into formal channels of bargaining through both juridical and ideological means. Based on ethnographic data from Sichuan province, this article reveals an in situ process of bureaucratic absorption in “Lan-ding village,” where the incorporation of rural residents into urban citizenship enables the depoliticization of resistance to land expropriation, first by changing the citizenship-based grounds on which legitimate claims to land can be made, then by discursively reframing eviction as a normative shift towards modern wage dependence.
Could We Have Covered More People At Less Cost? Technically, Yes; Politically, Probably Not

The process by which Congress considers legislation rarely affords the public an opportunity to examine how the outcomes might change if components of the law were structured differently. We evaluated how the recently enacted health reform law performed relative to a large number of alternative designs on measures of effectiveness and efficiency. We found that only a few different approaches would produce both more newly insured people and a lower cost to the government. However, these are characterized by design options that seemed political untenable, such as higher penalties, lower subsidies, or less generous Medicaid expansion.
General high performance adaptive robust motion control of machine tools

Summary form only given. Adaptive robust control (ARC) is a synergistic combination of adaptive control and deterministic robust control (DRC). It provides a robust performance with predictable transients while avoiding chattering typical in DRC. Anti-integration windup mechanism is built in the ARC and thus the problem of control saturation is alleviated. In this paper, ARC is applied to the motion control of machine tools, the objective of which is to assure a robust high speed and high accuracy tracking (contouring) performance in the presence of uncertainties due to inertia and friction variations. The ARC design is compared with the disturbance observer design by experiments performed on a Matsuura 510VSS high speed vertical machining center. Experimental results demonstrate the advantages and improved performance obtained via the ARC design.
Group velocity of anisotropic waves—Part I: Mathematical expression

The group velocity used in meteorology in the last 30 years was derived in terms of conservation of wave energy or crests in wave propagation. The conservation principle is a necessary but not a sufficient condition for deriving the mathematical form of group velocity, because it cannot specify a unique direction in which wave energy or crests propagate. The derived mathematical expression is available only for isotropic waves. But for anisotropic waves, the traditional group velocity may have no a definite direction, because it varies with rotation of coordinates. For these reasons, it cannot be considered as a general expression of group velocity. A ray defined by using this group velocity may not be the trajectory of a reference point in an anisotropic wave train. The more general and precise expression of group velocity which is applicable for both isotropic and anisotropic waves and is independent of coordinates will be derived following the displacement of not only a wave envelope phase but also a wave reference point on the phase.
Modeling Property Value Loss in a City Due to Terrorist Bombings

This paper presents a systems approach to determining the economic loss due to property damage resulting from a terrorist bombing in an American city. San Antonio, TX, is used as an example, but aspects of interest are the same as other cities (e.g. New York, Madrid, London). Existing data found in county property appraisal databases is used to produce a value map of the downtown portion of the city. A geometric representation of the city is used along with computational fluid dynamic (CFD) technology to simulate various bombing events and provide blast loadings on the various buildings. The results from the simulations are combined with damage criteria, which allows for estimations of the property damage and resulting loss. The results pinpoint locations where the loss is maximized due to a combination of the property value and the blast profiles, which are driven by the specific urban layout. Further work is suggested where principle components, such as Euclidian distance define the bulk of the causative factors.
Effect of Oil Spillage on Cassava Production in Niger Delta Region of Nigeria

Aims: To examine the effect of oil spillage on cassava farm land, yield and land productivity. Place and Duration of Study: Niger Delta region of Nigeria between January and October, 2012. Methodology: Delta State was purposively chosen from the Niger Delta region for the study. A random sampling technique was employed to select 17 cassava farmers each from three (3) oil spillage communities (Otor-Udu, Olomoro and Uzere) and three (3) nonoil spillage communities (Egini, Aradhe and Ellu), giving a total sample size of 102 respondents for the study. Data analysis was done using descriptive statistics, Likert scale, t-statistic and regression analysis. Results: The results showed that the major significant effects of oil spillage on cassava production perceived by the farmers included crop failure, poor yield, rotting tubers, and stunted crop growth with mean scores of 4.80, 4.78, 4.75 and 4.75 respectively. Others included increased soil temperature and toxicity (mean: 4.73), reduction of soil fertility (mean: 4.70), degradation of farm land (mean: 4.70) and low land productivity (mean: 4.70). The results further indicated that the cassava farm size, yield and land productivity in oil spillage affected communities were significantly (p < 0.01) lower than those of the nonoil spillage communities by 0.61 ha, 6119 metric tonnes (MT) and 1447 MT/ha respectively. These represent significant reduction of 36, 48 and 20% of these variables in the oil Research Article American Journal of Experimental Agriculture, 3(4): 914-926, 2013 915 spillage affected communities respectively. About 45% of the variation in land productivity in cassava production was influenced by oil spillage and the farmers’ farming experience. The productivity increased with increase in farming experience but decreased with increase in oil spills. Conclusion: Constant maintenance of the oil pipelines and tankers to prevent corrosion and checking of the activities of saboteurs which often destroy oil pipelines will reduce the incidence of oil spillage, hence increasing cassava production in the Niger Delta region. There is need for further study to know the adaptation measures the farmers employed to minimize the adverse effects of oil spillage on their production; and the mitigating measures by government and the oil companies to deal with oil spillage.
Identification of candidate genes for prostate cancer-risk SNPs utilizing a normal prostate tissue eQTL data set

Multiple studies have identified loci associated with the risk of developing prostate cancer but the associated genes are not well studied. Here we create a normal prostate tissue-specific eQTL data set and apply this data set to previously identified prostate cancer (PrCa)-risk SNPs in an effort to identify candidate target genes. The eQTL data set is constructed by the genotyping and RNA sequencing of 471 samples. We focus on 146 PrCa-risk SNPs, including all SNPs in linkage disequilibrium with each risk SNP, resulting in 100 unique risk intervals. We analyse cis-acting associations where the transcript is located within 2 Mb (±1 Mb) of the risk SNP interval. Of all SNP-gene combinations tested, 41.7% of SNPs demonstrate a significant eQTL signal after adjustment for sample histology and 14 expression principal component covariates. Of the 100 PrCa-risk intervals, 51 have a significant eQTL signal and these are associated with 88 genes. This study provides a rich resource to study biological mechanisms underlying genetic risk to PrCa.
Treatment of Rapidly Progressive Systemic Sclerosis: Current and Futures Perspectives.

Introduction: Systemic sclerosis (SSc) is a systemic autoimmune disease characterized by severe and often progressive cutaneous, pulmonary, cardiac and gastrointestinal tract fibrosis, cellular and humoral immunologic alterations, and pronounced fibroproliferative vasculopathy. There is no effective SSc disease modifying therapy. Patients with rapidly progressive SSc have poor prognosis with frequent disability and very high mortality.Areas covered: This paper reviews currently available therapeutic approaches for rapidly progressive SSc and discuss novel drugs under study for SSc disease modification.Expert opinion: The extent, severity and rate of progression of SSc skin and internal organ involvement determines the optimal therapeutic interventions for SSc. Cyclophosphamide for progressive SSc-associated interstitial lung disease and mycophenolate for rapidly progressive cutaneous involvement have shown effectiveness. Methotrexate has been used for less severe skin progression and for patients unable t...
Coupled Transport/Hyperelastic Model for High Nastic Materials

Work is underway to develop high energy density active materials based upon biological processes. These materials utilize the controlled transport of charge and fluid across a selectively-permeable membrane to achieve bulk deformation in a process referred to in the plant kingdom as nastic movements. The nastic material being developed consists of synthetic membranes containing biological ion pumps, ion channels, and ion exchangers surrounding fluid-filled cavities embedded within a polymer matrix. In this paper the formulation of a biological transport model and its coupling with a hyperelastic finite element model of the polymer matrix is discussed. The transport model includes contributions from ion pumps, ion exchangers, solvent flux, and ion channels. This work will form the basis for a feedback loop in material synthesis efforts. The goal of these studies is to determine the relative importance of the various parameters associated with both the polymer matrix and the biological transport components.© 2005 ASME
The Best Question: Explaining the Projection Behavior of Factives

This article deals with projection in factive sentences. The article first challenges standard assumptions by presenting a series of detailed observations about the interpretations of factive sentences in context, showing that what implication projects, if any, is quite variable and that projection is tightly constrained by prosodic and contextual information about the alternatives under consideration. The article then proposes an account which accommodates the variability of the data and sensitivity to contextual alternatives. The account is formulated within a modified version of Roberts 1996/2012 question-based model of discourse.