cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
P128 Diet Quality, Food Access, Obesity and Hypertension Risk in Rural Nicaragua

Background Obesity rates are rising in Nicaragua, however, there is limited research on food related behavioral and environmental risk factors as well as associated health risks. Objective Examine dietary patterns and quality, food access, obesity and related chronic disease risk (e.g. blood pressure) in rural Nicaragua. Study Design, Settings, and Participants Cross-sectional survey (translated into Spanish), anthropometric (height, weight) and blood pressure measures were obtained with adult participants >18 years. Trained interpreters assisted with consent and data collection. Data were collected during free health clinics in two rural mountainous regions in March 2018. Measurable Outcome/Analysis Patterns of food consumption (qualitative FFQ), food access (Household Food Insecurity Access Scale [HFIAS]), Body Mass Index (BMI), blood pressure and sociodemographic variables. Analysis were performed with SPSS 25.0 and included descriptive and bivariate analysis. Results Participants (n = 123, 85% female) had a mean age of 32.2 ± 15.7 years and included residents from La Rocha, La Tierra Blanca (48.8%) or La Hermidad (51.2%) with a mean household size of 4.9 ± 1.8. Foods most commonly consumed daily included: beans (88%), corn tortillas (84%), rice (80%). Produce mostly commonly consumed daily included: onions (67%), tomatoes (54%) and bananas (35%). 45% percent were identified as overweight and 17.4% as obese with a mean BMI of 26.2 kg/m2 ± 3.9. 63% of the participants blood pressure were above normal and 36.7% within normal ranges. Mean HFIAS food access scores were 9.2 ± 6.3 (range 0-27). Food access was marginally associated with blood pressure ( P = .077) and location ( P = .060) but not weight status ( P = .97). Conclusion Participants from rural Nicaragua reported limited daily dietary variety, high consumption of starchy foods, low consumption of fruits and vegetables and were found to be at risk for overweight, obesity and elevated blood pressure. Funding None.
Life Course Socioeconomic Status and Hypertension in African American Adults: The Jackson Heart Study

BACKGROUND Limited research has examined the association of life-course socioeconomic status (SES) with hypertension prevalence and incidence in a large cohort of African Americans. METHODS Among 4,761 participants from the Jackson Heart Study (JHS), we examined the association of SES indicators with prevalent and incident hypertension. We used multivariable Poisson regression to estimate prevalence ratios (PR, 95% confidence interval-CI) of baseline (2000-2004) hypertension by adult (education, income, occupation, wealth) and childhood (mother's education) SES. Cox proportional hazards regression was used to estimate hazard ratios (HR, 95% CI) of incident hypertension by adult and childhood SES (2005-2013; 7.21 median years of follow-up). We also examined the association of childhood-to-adult SES mobility (parent-to-adult education) with prevalent and incident hypertension. Model 1 adjusted for age and sex. Model 2 added waist circumference, behaviors (smoking, alcohol, physical activity, diet), and diabetes prevalence. RESULTS High (vs. low) adult SES measures were associated with a lower prevalence of hypertension, with the exception of having a college degree and upper-middle income (PR: 1.04, 95% CI: 1.01, 1.07; PR: 1.05, 95% CI: 1.01, 1.09, respectively). Higher childhood SES was associated with a lower prevalence and risk of hypertension (PR: 0.83, 95%: CI 0.75, 0.91; HR: 0.76, 95% CI: 0.65, 0.89, respectively). Upward mobility and consistent high SES (vs. consistent low SES) from childhood to adulthood was associated with a greater prevalence, but lower incidence of hypertension. CONCLUSION Efforts to prevent hypertension among African Americans should consider childhood and current SES status.
A primer on extramammary Paget's disease for the urologist.

Extramammary Paget’s disease (EMPD) is a rare and lethal intraepithelial malignancy that remains poorly understood. No standardized guidelines or consensus statements exist with regards to the diagnostic evaluation, therapeutic approaches and follow-up management. Complete surgical excision with negative margins has been accepted as the mainstay of treatment for EMPD to decrease the risk of local recurrence and to maximize durable cure. Non-invasive therapies, such as laser therapy, photodynamic therapy, radiotherapy and topical chemotherapy have been utilized, but are best reserved for non-surgical candidates. While the debate on the surgical approach between wide local excision (WLE) and Mohs micrographic surgery (MMS) continues, several studies have demonstrated the ability of WLE to be performed safely and effectively and to yield equally satisfactory outcomes with similar rates of recurrence to MMS. Patients undergoing surgical excision often require complex closures with skin grafting or local flaps to close genital defects. We aim to provide an up-to-date review of the current knowledge of EMPD. In addition to discussing the clinical presentation and prognostic outcomes, we focus and elaborate on the diagnostic approaches and treatment alternatives available. This information may serve as a primer for the urologist who may be called upon to treat this malignancy primarily or to provide wound coverage secondarily.
Structure and function of the vitamin D-binding proteins

Abstract The vitamin D-binding proteins discussed in this chapter include the major transport protein in blood, vitamin D-binding protein (DBP); the intracellular vitamin D-binding protein known as heat shock protein Hsp70; the nuclear vitamin D receptor (VDR); and two membrane receptors, VDR itself and the membrane-associated rapid response steroid-binding protein, also known as thioredoxin-like protein (GRP58), endoplasmic reticulum protein 57/60, or protein disulfide isomerase family A, member 3. This chapter describes known structural aspects of these proteins that are essential for their function as well as their roles in mediating transport of the vitamin D metabolites in blood, their cellular uptake, their movement within the cell, and their regulation of biologic processes both genomic and nongenomic.
Hypomethylating agent based combinations in higher risk myelodysplastic syndrome

For over a decade the hypomethylating agents (HMA) azacitidine and decitabine have been the mainstay of therapy for myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS). There is a critical need to improve frontline therapy, given that only up to half of high-risk MDS patients will respond to HMA therapy, and responses are short-lived. Currently, a key strategy has been to combine HMAs with other novel agents to improve patient outcomes. While synergy of agents is the goal of combination therapy, combinations often come at the cost of increased side effects that are often intolerable in this vulnerable population. The purpose of this review is to critically examine clinically relevant HMA combinations and discuss the future of MDS management.
Umpire 2.0: Simulating realistic, mixed-type, clinical data for machine learning

The Umpire 2.0 R-package offers a streamlined, user-friendly workflow to simulate complex, heterogeneous, mixed-type data with known subgroup identities, dichotomous outcomes, and time-to-event data, while providing ample opportunities for fine-tuning and flexibility. Here, we describe how we have expanded the core Umpire 1.0 R-package, developed to simulate gene expression data, to generate clinically realistic, mixed-type data for use in evaluating unsupervised and supervised machine learning (ML) methods. As the availability of large-scale clinical data for ML has increased, clinical data has posed unique challenges, including widely variable size, individual biological heterogeneity, data collection and measurement noise, and mixed data types. Developing and validating ML methods for clinical data requires data sets with known ground truth, generated from simulation. Umpire 2.0 addresses challenges to simulating realistic clinical data by providing the user a series of modules to generate survival parameters and subgroups, apply meaningful additive noise, and discretize to single or mixed data types. Umpire 2.0 provides broad functionality across sample sizes, feature spaces, and data types, allowing the user to simulate correlated, heterogeneous, binary, continuous, categorical, or mixed type data from the scale of a small clinical trial to data on thousands of patients drawn from electronic health records. The user may generate elaborate simulations by varying parameters in order to compare algorithms or interrogate operating characteristics of an algorithm in both supervised and unsupervised ML.
Diversity, Democratic Systems and Epistemic Quality

The neo-Deweyan conception of political judgment and the arguments on pragmatist epistemology and Deweyan democracy theory developed so far in the book seem to align with the recent so-called systemic turn in deliberative democracy. One key implication of the systemic turn is that deliberative democracy needs to include a diversity of types of communication and practices that was previously dismissed by classical accounts. This implication seems like a natural extension of the argument, developed in the previous chapters, that a diversity of perspectives in democratic inquiries has positive epistemic effects on the quality of problem formulations and problem-solving proposals. Moreover, Dewey’s concept of fragmented “publics” seems to capture the idea of the systemic turn of thinking about deliberation on the level of societies as a whole as a process of communication between decentralized parts of an overarching deliberative system. In trying to develop a model of how successful deliberation could be possible on the macro-level of mass democracies, the systemic turn also promises an answer to Dewey’s basic question in The Public and its Problems, namely how to establish a culture of democratic interaction that has a strong ability to identify and solve public problems in the face of a factual fragmentation of the public sphere in dispersed publics within mass democracies. By way of discussing three problems internal to the systemic turn itself, and the applicability of this turn to Deweyan democracy, I conclude that it does not provide a good answer.
Comparison of velocity-selective arterial spin labeling schemes.

Purpose In velocity-selective (VS) arterial spin labeling, strategies using multiple saturation modules or using VS inversion (VSI) pulse can provide improved SNR efficiency compared to the original labeling scheme using one VS saturation (VSS) module. Their performance improvement, however, has not been directly compared. Methods Different VS labeling schemes were evaluated by Bloch simulation for their SNR efficiency, eddy current sensitivity, and robustness against B1 and B0 variation. These schemes included dual-module double-refocused hyperbolic secant and symmetric 8-segment B1 -insensitive rotation (sBIR8-) VSS pulses, the original and modified Fourier transform-based VSI pulses. A subset of the labeling schemes was examined further in phantom and in vivo experiments for their eddy current sensitivity and SNR performance. An additional sBIR8-VSS with a built-in inversion (sBIR8-VSS-inversion) was evaluated for the effects of partial background suppression to allow a fairer comparison to VSI. Results According to the simulations, the sBIR8-VSS was the most robust against field imperfections and had similarly high SNR efficiency (dual-module, dual-sBIR8-VSS) compared with the best VSI pulse (sinc-modulated, sinc-VSI). These were confirmed by the phantom and in vivo data. Without additional background suppression, the sinc-VSI pulses had the highest temporal SNR, closely followed by the sBIR8-VSS-inversion pulse, both benefited from partial background suppression effects. Conclusion Dual-sBIR8-VSS and sinc-VSI measured the highest SNR efficiency among the VS labeling schemes. Dual-sBIR8-VSS was the most robust against field imperfections, whereas sinc-VSI may provide a higher SNR efficiency if its immunity to field imperfections can be improved.
The Lens Galaxy In PG1115+080 is an Ellipse

We use the structure of the Einstein ring image of the quasar host galaxy in the four-image quasar lens PG1115+080 to determine the angular structure of the gravitational potential of the lens galaxy. We find that it is well described as an ellipsoid and that the best fit non-ellipsoidal models are consistent with the ellipsoidal model. We find upper limits on the standard parameters for the m=3 and m=4 deviations from an ellipse of <0.035 and <0.064, respectively. We also find that the position of the center of mass is consistent with the center of light, with an upper limit of 0.005 arcsec on the offset between them. Neither the ellipsoidal nor the non-ellipsoidal models can reproduce the observed image flux ratios while simultaneously maintaining a reasonable fit to the Einstein ring, so the anomalous flux ratio of the A_1 and A_2 quasar images must be due to substructure in the gravitational potential such as compact satellite galaxies or stellar microlenses rather than odd angular structure in the lens galaxy.
The Path to Sustainable Business: Environmental Frameworks, Practices, and Related Tools

In the late 1980s, the concept of sustainable development gained prominence as a perspective for understanding the changing dynamic of business and the environment. It is a term that has come to mean different things to different people. Excerpt UVA-ENT-0033 The Path to Sustainable Business: Environmental Frameworks, Practices, and Related Tools According to a 1989 National Academy of Engineering report by Robert Ayres, 94% of the material used in industrial production is thrown away before the product is made. Sustainability is an injunction not to satisfy ourselves by impoverishing our successors. —Robert Solow . . .
LGBTQ Global Mental Health: Ethical Challenges and Clinical Considerations

Though the research in the fields of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) health and global mental health is flourishing, there is relatively little known about the crossover between the fields and this particularly vulnerable population. As a response to the lack of cohesive research, this piece provides a basic overview of LGBTQ global mental health covering historical and contemporary perspectives as well as currently available research. The overview lends itself to a discussion around the challenges and ethical dilemmas around providing adequate care to this specific global community. Lastly, considerations for improvement in clinical practice and the field at large are presented so as to improve mental healthcare access and appropriate, compassionate care applicable to most global settings.
Offline preemptive bottom left decreasing height scheduling of power loads in smart grids

We are considering the scheduling of flexible preemptable electric loads in a smart grid so as to minimize peak load when all loads have the same earliest start time and deadline. We show that when this scheduling is done using the bottom left decreasing height heuristic, the ratio of the peak load of the schedule generated by this heuristic and the optimal peak load has the tight bound $$4/3-1/(3D)$$ , where D is the duration of the scheduling interval. This settles an outstanding conjecture regarding the worst-case performance of this heuristic. Our experiments indicate a reduction in peak load of up to 45% using the bottom left decreasing height heuristic and benchmark data.
SARS-CoV-2 mRNA vaccines induce persistent human germinal centre responses.

SARS-CoV-2 mRNA-based vaccines are about 95% effective in preventing COVID-191–5. The dynamics of antibody-secreting plasmablasts and germinal centre B cells induced by these vaccines in humans remain unclear. Here we examined antigen-specific B cell responses in peripheral blood (n = 41) and draining lymph nodes in 14 individuals who had received 2 doses of BNT162b2, an mRNA-based vaccine that encodes the full-length SARS-CoV-2 spike (S) gene1. Circulating IgG- and IgA-secreting plasmablasts that target the S protein peaked one week after the second immunization and then declined, becoming undetectable three weeks later. These plasmablast responses preceded maximal levels of serum anti-S binding and neutralizing antibodies to an early circulating SARS-CoV-2 strain as well as emerging variants, especially in individuals who had previously been infected with SARS-CoV-2 (who produced the most robust serological responses). By examining fine needle aspirates of draining axillary lymph nodes, we identified germinal centre B cells that bound S protein in all participants who were sampled after primary immunization. High frequencies of S-binding germinal centre B cells and plasmablasts were sustained in these draining lymph nodes for at least 12 weeks after the booster immunization. S-binding monoclonal antibodies derived from germinal centre B cells predominantly targeted the receptor-binding domain of the S protein, and fewer clones bound to the N-terminal domain or to epitopes shared with the S proteins of the human betacoronaviruses OC43 and HKU1. These latter cross-reactive B cell clones had higher levels of somatic hypermutation as compared to those that recognized only the SARS-CoV-2 S protein, which suggests a memory B cell origin. Our studies demonstrate that SARS-CoV-2 mRNA-based vaccination of humans induces a persistent germinal centre B cell response, which enables the generation of robust humoral immunity. Analysis of antigen-specific B cells in lymph nodes of individuals vaccinated with BNT162b2 reveals lasting germinal centre responses, explaining the robust humoral immunity induced by SARS-CoV-2 mRNA-based vaccines.
Themensetzung, Bevölkerungsstruktur und Stimmenpotenziale

Die Bundestagswahl 2017 ist ein anschauliches Beispiel fur den Konflikt politischer Parteien um die Kontrolle der Themenagenda. So setzte die CDU auf Familienforderung, die SPD auf soziale Gerechtigkeit, die AfD auf Migrationspolitik, die FDP auf eine Bildungsreform, die Linke auf Arbeitsmarktpolitik und Bundnis 90/Die Grunen (B90/Grune) auf Klimaschutz, um nur einige Beispiele zu nennen. Gleichzeitig provozierten einige Themen, so insbesondere die Asylfrage oder die Steuerpolitik, hochst kontrare Positionen in den Wahlprogrammen aller Parteien. Insgesamt betrachtet war 2017 ein Wahljahr relativ klar abgegrenzter Themenprofile.
Asian American Students’ Experience of Race at a Christian University in Southern California

Issues of race on America’s college campuses are increasingly prominent in the current sociopolitical environment. This pilot study sought to understand Asian American students’ experience of race ...
Approximate solutions for the shear center of plates of variable thickness

In a plate-theoretical formulation of the shear center problem, the relevant boundary-value problem is for a cantilevered rectangular plate of variable thickness with two free opposite edges and with the edge opposite to the clamped end subject to a rigid vertical displacement and free of bending moment. For plates with Poisson's ratiov equal to zero, there is an exact elementary solution for this boundary-value problem from which the exact location of the shear center can be calculated. When Poisson's ratio is not zero, an approximate elementary solution may be obtained within the framework of a Saint-Venant flexure solution for plates by satisfying the displacement boundary conditions at the clamped edge approximately. Different forms of this approximation are discussed in [7], some with rather marked Poisson's ratio effects. Among these, the minimum complementary energy approach of [6] gives a shear center location identical to the exact solution forv=O. A generalized beam theory developed in [6] is implemented here to delineate the effect ofv without altering the edge conditions by ad hoc approximations. The results show that the Poisson's ratio effect is rather moderate and the shear center location is nearly the same as that for zero Poisson's ratio. A finite element solution for the plate theory boundary-value problem confirms this finding. The generalized beam equations are also used to study the effect of the aspect ratio of the plate and orthotropy on the location of the shear center.
Locus control region-A gamma transgenic mice: a new model for studying the induction of fetal hemoglobin in the adult

All pharmacologic agents that induce fetal hemoglobin (Hb) have been discovered with in vivo studies of humans, macaques, and baboons. We tested whether transgenic mice carrying human fetal (gamma) globin genes provide a model for studying the pharmacologic induction of HbF in the adult. In initial studies, phenylhydrazine-induced hemolytic anemia, 5-azacytidine, butyrate, or combinations of these treatments failed to activate the human gamma-globin gene in a transgenic mouse line carrying a 4.4-kb G gamma globin gene construct that is expressed only in the embryonic stage of mouse development. Subsequently, adult mice carrying the human A gamma gene linked to the locus control region (LCR) regulatory sequences and expressing heterocellularly HbF (about 25%, gamma-positive cells) were used. Treatments with erythropoietin, 5- azacytidine, hydroxyurea, or butyrate resulted in induction of gamma gene expression as documented by measurement of F-reticulocytes, the gamma/gamma + beta biosynthetic ratio and the level of steady state gamma mRNA. Administration of erythropoietin or butyrate to transgenic mice carrying a muLCR-beta (human) globin construct, failed to increase human beta-globin expression. These results suggest that the muLCR-A gamma transgenic mice provide a new model for studying the induction of fetal Hb in the adult.
Lattice FIR digital filter architectures using stochastic computing

This paper presents novel architectures for linear-phase FIR digital filters using stochastic computing. Stochastic computing systems require fewer logic gates and are inherently fault-tolerant. Thus, these structures are well suited for nanoscale CMOS technologies. Compared to direct-form linear-phase FIR filters, linear-phase lattice filters require twice the number of multipliers but the same number of adders. The hardware complexities of stochastic implementations of linear-phase FIR filters for direct-form and lattice structures are comparable. Using speech signals from ICA ′99 Synthetic Benchmarks, it is shown that, for linear-phase FIR filters, the error-to-signal power ratios of stochastic direct-form and stochastic lattice filters are about the same. However, the error-to-signal power of stochastic direct-form or lattice filter is an order of magnitude higher at very low fault rates but is more than two orders of magnitude less when the fault rate is about one percent than the direct-form, where the faults represent random bit-flips at outputs of all logic gates.
Release of creatine phosphokinase from muscle. II. Effect of multiple doses of polymyxin B or compound 48-80 on increases in plasma enzyme levels.

Abstract A single dose of Polymyxin B, 5 mg/kg, or Compound 48/80, 3 mg/kg, increases the skeletal muscle-type creatine phosphokinase (PCPK) activity in rat plasma. 3 After a 1- to 3-day period of daily treatments with increasing doses of Polymyxin B or Compound 48/80, the same doses of Polymyxin B or Compound 48/80, i.p., as cited above produce markedly smaller or no increases in PCPK, plasma aspartate aminotransferase (GOT) or plasma lactic dehydrogenase activities. However, administration of Polymyxin B, 10 mg/kg, i.p., or Compound 48/80, 6 mg/kg, i.p., on the day after completion of the 3-day pretreatment with the same drug did produce increased PCPK activities. The increase in PCPK activity produced by Polymyxin B, 5 mg/kg, or Compound 48/80, 3 mg/kg, was significantly smaller in rats pretreated with Compound 48/80 or Polymyxin B, respectively, for 3 days, than in naive rats. Ten days after completing the 3-day Polymyxin B pretreatment, Polymyxin B, 5 mg/kg, produced an increase in PCPK activities. The increases in PCPK activity produced by restraint stress or other pharmacological agents were not diminished by prior treatment with Polymyxin B for 3 days. The evidence suggests that tolerance to the toxic effects of Polymyxin B or Compound 48/80 on skeletal muscle and other tissues develop with two or more doses of Polymyxin B or Compound 48/80.
trans-Tetra­iodidobis(tri-p-tolyl­phosphine oxide-κO)tin(IV)

The centrosymmetric title compound, [SnI4(C21H21OP)2], is a monomeric complex that displays a nearly octa­hedral coordination of tin(IV), with an Sn—O bond distance of 2.159 (2) A and an average Sn—I bond distance of 2.79 (3) A.
Bacillus subtilis relG Mutant: Defect in Glucose Uptake

A previously described Bacillus subtilis mutant which exhibits a relaxed phenotype after glucose limitation (relG) has been characterized further. Analysis of this mutant and of the downshift mechanism in B. subtilis has shown that the primary defect lies in glucose uptake.
Do Small Format Supermarkets Improve the Shopping Experience?: Field Study Assessment of Two Alternative U.S. Strategies

Industry reports have highlighted the trend for smaller format supermarkets in the food industry. Retailers such as Wal-Mart, Tesco, and Safeway see smaller format supermarkets as an opportunity to respond to the changing preferences of customers who are seeking a more convenient shoppability experience. This study investigates differences in small format retail strategies among retailers. A combination of direct observation in a naturalistic setting and Delphi methodologies were employed. A comparative analysis was performed to examine differences in strategy.
Environmental deterioration and human agency in ancient Macedonia: A case study

Stobi, a city inhabited from at least the 4th century B.C. to the late 6th century A.D., is at the confluence of the Vardar and Crna Rivers, now in the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia. Archaeological and geologic evidence was used in the 1970s by R. L. Folk to develop a scenario of local environmental degradation, resulting from a postulated widespread climate change (4th–8th centuries A.D.), as a major cause of the decline and eventual abandonment of Stobi. The data for increasingly xeric conditions, catastrophic floods, and mudslides along the Crna River are reviewed and other paleoenvironmental evidence is considered. Subsequent archaeological investigations and a refined chronology reveal repeated episodes of rebuilding along the Crna between periods of flooding. After that portion of the city was abandoned in the mid-5th century, Stobi achieved new prosperity as reflected in the construction of large-scale ecclesiastical architecture and houses outside the south city wall. Human agency and periodic extreme weather are proposed as causes of environmental degradation at Stobi. The city's demise is attributed mainly to hostile invasions, plague, earthquake, and the collapse of imperial administrative and economic networks. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Ketolide Resistance Conferred by Short Peptides

Clones expressing pentapeptides conferring resistance to a ketolide antibiotic, HMR3004, were selected from a random pentapeptide mini-gene library. The pentapeptide MRFFV conferred the highest level of resistance and was encoded in three different mini-genes. Comparison of amino acid sequences of peptides conferring resistance to a ketolide with those conferring resistance to erythromycin reveals a correspondence between the peptide sequence and the chemical structure of macrolide antibiotic, indicating possible interaction between the peptide and the drug on the ribosome. Based on these observations, a "bottle brush" model of action of macrolide resistance peptides is proposed, in which newly translated peptide interacts with the macrolide molecule on the ribosome and actively displaces it from its binding site. Temporal "cleaning" of the ribosome from the bound antibiotic may be sufficient to allow continuation of protein synthesis even despite the presence of the drug in the medium.
Cadmium Telluride Solar Cells on Molybdenum Substrates

We report on the development of Mo/CdTe/CdS/indium-tin-oxide, thin-film solar cells grown by radio-frequency magnetron sputtering. This is an inverted configuration compared to the conventional glass/tin-oxide/CdS/CdTe/metal cells. Molybdenum was chosen as a substrate because its thermal expansion coefficient and the work function are close to those of CdTe. We have achieved AM1.5 conversion efficiencies of 7.8 percent on 0.05 cm 2 area devices. Our best cells had a nitrogen-doped ZnTe layer between the molybdenum and the CdTe for a somewhat improved back contact. However, we observe a significant rollover in the IV curve in forward current that indicates a back-diode effect. This implies the need for improvement of the electronic properties of the molybdenum - CdTe and possibly CdS - ITO interfaces.
Die design for flashless forging of complex parts

Abstract In conventional hot forging of connecting rods, the material wasted to the flash accounts approximately 20–40% of the original workpiece. In order to reduce the cost of forged products, the forging must be performed in a closed cavity to obtain near-net or net shape parts. In flashless forging, the volume distribution of the preform must be accurately controlled to avoid overloading the dies and to fill the cavity. Additionally, the preform must be simple enough to be mass-produced. This study deals with the preform design for flashless forging of a connecting rod and introduces a new tooling concept for forging of complex parts with a controlled amount of flash. In both studies the use of process simulations has been helpful in the performance of several iterations without requiring the construction of expensive tooling.
Effects of adenotonsillectomy on polysomnographic parameters in children with sickle cell disease

Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) in the pediatric sickle cell disease (SCD) population can promote nightly hemoglobin oxygen desaturation, which increases the risk of central nervous system insult and may impair cognitive function. Adenotonsillectomy can ameliorate OSA symptoms, but its effect in children with SCD has not been fully investigated. We reviewed the effects of adenotonsillectomy in thirteen children with SCD by comparison of pre and post-adenotonsillectomy polysomnography (PSG) parameters. Significant reduction in hemoglobin oxygen desaturation, decreased apnea-hypopnea index, and increased rapid eye movement sleep occurred after adenotonsillectomy. Adenotonsillectomy promotes improvement in sleep quality in children with SCD and PSG-confirmed OSA.
Cytogenetic studies during remission of blastic crisis in a patient with chronic myelocytic leukaemia.

A patient's clinical course with Phi-positive chronic myelogenous leukaemia is described. Blastic transformation was associated with a double Ph1 chromosome and megaloblastosis. During remission, the megaloblastosis disappeared and the cytogenetic pattern reverted to a single Ph1 chromosome. A second blast crisis occurred terminally with a reappearance of aberrant red cell maturation and a double Ph1 chromosome and aneuploidy. The possible significance of these observations to the clone theory of blastic crisis evolution is discussed.
THE DIFFUSION OF CARBON DIOXIDE IN TISSUES

1. Two methods are given for measuring the rate of diffusion of CO2 in tissue membranes. Methods are also given for the determination of tissue thickness and the absorption coefficient for CO2 in tissues. 2. The values obtained for the permeability constant (P x 104) at 22°C. for CO2 in the following tissues are:—frog skin, 3.05; connective tissue (dog), 2.65; smooth muscle (cat), 5.00; frog muscle, 5.29; striated muscle (dog), 4.70. P is expressed as cc. per cm.2 per minute under a pressure gradient of one atmosphere per cm. 3. Evidence is presented to show that in a "steady state" bicarbonate contributes a negligible amount to the diffusion of CO2. 4. The absorption coefficient for CO2 in frog skin is 0.73 cc. per cc. and for frog muscle 0.78 cc. per cc. 5. In all of the tissues studied the diffusion of CO2 is slower than in water. The diffusion coefficients (K x 104 in cm.2/minute) at 22°C. for tissues as compared with water are:—water (16°C.), 9.5 (Hufner, 1897); frog skin, 4.1; connective tissue, 3.7; frog muscle, 6.8; striated muscle (dog), 6.0; smooth muscle (cat), 6.4. 6. The time course of saturation of a tissue with CO2 is altered in the presence of available base. Non-acidified tissues saturate more slowly than acidified tissues and the rate of saturation is dependent on the CO2 tension.
Understanding and predicting effects of supplemental viscous damping on seismic response of asymmetric one‐storey systems

Supplemental damping could mitigate the earthquake-induced damage in buildings with asymmetric plan, known to be more vulnerable to damage than comparable symmetric-plan buildings. This investigation aims to improve the understanding of how and why planwise distribution of fluid viscous dampers (FVDs) influences the response of linearly elastic, one-storey, asymmetric-plan systems. Starting with vibration mode shapes, we predict this influence on the modal damping ratios, and in turn on the individual modal responses and the total response. These predictions are confirmed by the computed responses, which demonstrated that the reduction in earthquake response of the system achieved by supplemental damping is strongly influenced by its planwise distribution, which is characterized by four parameters. Identified are asymmetric distributions of supplemental damping that are more effective in reducing the response compared to symmetric distribution. The percentage reduction achieved by a judiciously selected asymmetric distribution can be twice or even larger compared to symmetric distribution. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Identification of T-cell receptor Vβ deletion mutant mouse strain AU/ssJ (H-2q) which is resistant to collagen-induced arthritis

Our laboratory is involved in investigating the role of T-cell receptor (Tcr) in collagen-induced arthritis (CIA). During these studies we found AU/ssJ (H-2q) mice to be resistant to CIA like SWR (H-2q), as compared with other H-2q strains with wild-type Tcr like DBA/1 and B 10. Q. Upon screening with monoclonal antibodies F23.1 and KJ23a, AU/ssJ was found to be F23.1 negative (Vβ8 Tcr negative) and KJ23a positive (Vβ17a Tcr positive). Southern blot analysis on liver DNA using specific Tcr-Vβ probes confirmed the deletion of Vβ8 gene family and also showed that AU/ssJ mice have deletions of Vβ9, Vβ13, Vβ12, and Vβ11 genes of Tcr. Further, these mice show a restriction fragment length polymorphism pattern with Vβ10, Vβ6, and Vβ17 probes similar to SWR mice as compared with 1310 mice. Since SWR and AU/ssJ are from different backgrounds, these studies indicate that specific variable region β chain genes of Tcr are crucial for susceptibility to CIA in mice. Furthermore, these studies identify an additional inbred strain which has also deleted 50% of its Tcr-Vβ genes.
Different strokes for different folks: individual stress response as manifested in typed text

Stress is a part of everyday life, but chronic high stress can have psychological and physiological side effects. Systems that can detect harmful levels of stress could assist users in managing their stress and health. However, current assessments are often obtrusive or require specialized equipment. This research leverages attributes of everyday keyboard interactions to proactively and continuously monitor cognitive function. A laboratory study was conducted where typing samples were collected under stress and no-stress conditions. Keystroke and linguistic features were extracted from the samples and models were constructed for each participant. Correct classification rates ranged from 62% to 88% with a mean of 72%.
Elements of successful restraint and seclusion reduction programs and their application in a large, urban, state psychiatric hospital

In recent years, there has been a strong desire on the part of inpatient psychiatric programs to reduce the use of seclusion and mechanical restraint. There is a consensus among those who have published descriptions of successfully implemented restraint and seclusion reduction programs that the essential elements of such programs are high level administrative endorsement, participation by recipients of mental health services, culture change, training, data analysis, and individualized treatment. This article describes these elements and their application in a successful restraint reduction program at Creedmoor Psychiatric Center, a large, urban, state-operated psychiatric hospital that reduced its combined restraint and seclusion rate by 67% over a period of 2 years.
Integrated micro-optical multichip module based on an uncooled InGaAsSb∕AlGaAsSb photodetector

This paper focuses on the integration of InGaAsSb photodetectors along with micro-optics in order to realize a prototype system that can achieve a stronger response during atmospheric profiling and spectroscopy measurements. The integration of the detector was executed using a novel conductive-adhesive-based flip-chip integration process. The design, fabrication, and integration of the constituent technologies and experimental results from their characterization are presented.
Chemosystematic studies of the Caribbean junipers based on their volatile oils

Abstract Six taxa of smooth leaf margined junipers were collected from the West Indies, Bermuda and the south-eastern United States for chemosystematic analyses of their volatile oils. These taxa were Juniperus bermudiana, J. ekmanii, J. gracilior, J. lucayana, J. silicicola and J. virginiana . Three major groups were found: Hispaniola ( J. ekmanii, J. gracilior ); Bermuda/Bahamas ( J. bermudiana, J. lucayana ) and south-eastern United States ( J. silicicola, J. virginiana ). The hispaniola junipers were found to be unique among the smooth leaf margined junipers of the Western Hemisphere in having a large percentage of bomyl acetate in the leaf oil composition. Systematic implications and possible routes of migration and evolution are discussed.
Isolation of a (copper, zinc)-thionein from the small intestine of neonatal rats.

Abstract A Cu- and Zn-binding protein was isolated from the small intestine of 5-day-old rats whose only source of these metals was maternal milk. Elution behavior on Sephadex G-75 indicated that the molecular weight of this protein was about 9,000 daltons. Furthermore, the protein exhibited low absorbance at 280 nm, was separated into two subfractions by DEAE Sephadex chromatography and had low aromatic amino acid and high cysteine content. The protein, therefore, meets the criteria for classification as a metallothionein. Evidence suggested that the metallothionein is located primarily in the distal portion of the small intestine.
Spatial localization accuracy of radiologists in free-response studies: inferring perceptual FROC curves from mark-rating data

Rationale and Objectives Free-response data consist of a set of mark-ratings pairs. Before analysis, the data are classified or “scored” into lesion and non-lesion localizations. The scoring is done by choosing an acceptance-radius and classifying marks within the acceptance-radius of lesion centers as lesion localizations, and all other marks are classified as non-lesion localizations. The scored data are plotted as a free-response receiver operating characteristic (FROC) curve, essentially a plot of appropriately normalized numbers of lesion localizations vs. non-lesion localizations. Scored FROC curves are frequently used to compare imaging systems and computer-aided detection (CAD) algorithms. However, the choice of acceptance-radius is arbitrary. This makes it difficult to compare curves from different studies and to estimate true performance. Materials and Methods To resolve this issue the concept of two types of marks is introduced: perceptual hits and perceptual misses. A perceptual hit is a mark made in response to the observer seeing the lesion. A perceptual miss is a mark made in response to the observer seeing a (lesion-like) non-lesion. A method of estimating the most probable numbers of perceptual hits and misses is described. This allows one to plot a perceptual FROC operating point and by extension a perceptual FROC curve. Unlike a scored FROC operating point, a perceptual point is independent of the choice of acceptance-radius. The method does not allow one to identify individual marks as perceptual hits or misses—only the most probable numbers. It is based on a three-parameter statistical model of the spatial distributions of perceptual hits and misses relative to lesion centers. Results The method has been applied to an observer dataset in which mammographers and residents with different levels of experience were asked to locate lesions in mammograms. The perceptual operating points suggest superior performance for the mammographers and equivalent performance for residents in the first and second mammography rotations. These results and the model validation are preliminary as they are based on a small dataset. Conclusion The significance of this study is showing that it is possible to probabilistically determine if a mark resulted from seeing a lesion or a non-lesion. Using the method developed in this study one could perform acceptance-radius independent estimation of observer performance.
Reorganization of geological sciences and particularly of metamorphic geology by the advent of plate tectonics: a personal view

Abstract Plate tectonics, having being formulated in geophysics in the 1960's, was introduced into, and caused reorganization of, geological sciences in about 1968–1975. An anticipated system of reorganized geology was formulated around 1970 by a few pioneering geologists with a strong background of global-scale regional geology. Pre-existing Dutch-school tectonics with an explicit uniformitarian tendency played an important role in the beginning, development and acceptance of plate tectonic viewpoints. Global-scale views in metamorphic geology that had begun prior to the advent of plate tectonics were developed into tectonic models of regional metamorphism as well as discussions of the P - T - t paths, and of secular changes in the type, of regional metamorphism.
Hypoxia induced alteration of mitochondrial genes in cardiomyocytes- role of Bnip3 and Pdk1

The hypoxic conditions induced by reduced blood flow decreases oxygen availability in target tissues. Cellular hypoxia leads to mitochondrial dysfunction, decreased energy production and increased production of reactive oxygen species. In order to determine the alteration in expression of mitochondrial genes following hypoxia in cardiomyocytes, we developed a rodent mitochondrial gene chip (RoMitoChip). The chip had 1088 probesets including 46 probesets representing 37 mouse mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) transcripts and the remaining probesets representing mouse nuclear genes contributing to the mitochondrial structure and function. Mouse cardiomyocytes isolated from neonatal C57BL/6 mice were subjected to hypoxia (1% oxygen) for different time intervals demonstrated a dichotomy in the expression profile of tRNA and mRNA transcripts. We report a total of 483 signature genes that were altered by hypoxia in the cardiac myocytes, and related to mitochondrial structure and function. This includes 23 transcripts on mtDNA. Pathway analysis demonstrated predominant changes in the expression of genes involved in oxidative phosphorylation, glucose and fatty acid metabolism and apoptosis. The most upregulated genes following 24 hr hypoxia included HIF-1α inducible genes Bnip3, Pdk1 and Aldoc. While Bnip3 is important in the cardiomyocyte death pathway, Pdk1 enzyme is critical in conserving mitochondrial function by diverting metabolic intermediates to glycolysis. This study identifies the participation of two important pathways, cell death and glycolytic, and two key proteins, Bnip3 and Pdk1, playing critical role in these pathways in cardiomyocytes following severe hypoxia.
Kinetic and calorimetric evidence for two distinct scaffolding protein binding populations within the bacteriophage P22 procapsid.

A wide variety of viruses require the transient presence of scaffolding proteins to direct capsid assembly. In the case of bacteriophage P22, a model in which the scaffolding protein selectively stabilizes on-pathway growing intermediates has been proposed. The stoichiometry and thermodynamics of binding of the bacteriophage P22 scaffolding protein within the procapsid were analyzed by light scattering and isothermal titration calorimetry. Calorimetric experiments carried out between 10 and 37 °C were consistent with the presence of at least two distinct populations of binding sites, in agreement with kinetic evidence obtained by a light scattering assay. Binding to the high-affinity sites occurred at 20 °C with a stoichiometry of approximately 60 scaffolding molecules per procapsid and an apparent Kd of approximately 100−300 nM and was almost completely enthalpy-driven. For the second binding population, precise fitting of the data was impossible due to small heats of binding, but the thermodynamics of b...
Cost optimal deployment of mirrors associated with a high temperature solar energy system

Abstract An absorbing cavity or collector of solar energy is mounted on a tower which is assumed to be erected over horizontal terrain. Located about the base of the tower are many relatively small mirrors of predetermined size. The bases of the mirror mounts are rigidly attached to the ground. During daylight hours, each mirror is continuously positioned so that the specular component of incident sunlight is reflected into an aperture located in the base of the cavity. A sharp upper bound is found on the maximum energy that can be redirected into the aperture by an array of mirrors belonging to a certain family & (the class of locally uniform rectangular arrays) whose total surface area is not more than some preassigned value. The upper bound is obtained by building up an optimal mirror array in local blocks. Although these blocks may not combine to generate a realizable deployment, their properties should be of assistance in finding superior members of &. These results are combined with a simple cost model to obtain a lower bound on the minimum cost per unit of redirected energy as a function of the unit mirror cost.
Scalar radiation from a point source

We consider a classical scalar field, obeying the inhomogeneous Klein-Gordon equation, in the case of a single point source. We propose a definition for the radiated energy-momentum and give an expression for it in terms of the prescribed world line of the source where we assume that the acceleration vanishes outside a finite interval. We find that only the part of the world line with non-vanishing acceleration contributes to the radiation, which travels at all speeds less than but not equal to the speed of light. We briefly discuss the case with more than one point source.
Potentiometric Measurements in Non-Aqueous Media Using Bromide and Iodide Ion Selective Membrane Electrodes

Abstract Solid membrane bromide and iodide ion selective membrane electrodes were evaluated for their performance in non-aqueous media. The electrodes were evaluated in several alcohols and glacial acetic acid.
Review of progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy and natalizumab.

Background:Progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy (PML), a destructive demyelinating infection which lytically infects oligodendrocytes, has occurred in patients treated with natalizumab. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scan imaging of the brain gives clues to diagnosis but is nonspecific in di